To Aid A Hero
by MistressOfTime1218
Summary: Zelda opened a forbidden door. Link has been captured & is now being tortured by a human form of SoulEdge. Brawl & Calibur heroes must join forces to save their friend. Meanwhile, Zelda & Siegfried realize something. Both have feelings for our blond hero.
1. Chapter 1

**MistressOfTime1218:** You all knew this was coming.

**StormBlitz**: Your name _is_ Mistress of time. It only makes sense that you would idolize the Hero of time.

**DarkMist:** Who's he saving this time?

**K-Chan:** (Looks at summary) Wait, what the hell?!

**MistressOfTime1218:** I'll explain it in a bit. Now, to those of you that are faithfully awaiting your new chapters, I apologize. My old computer got every disease known to man and basically crashed. The one I have now, my new HP, doesn't have any of my old files, so I have to rewrite every single one to the best of my ability. Please be patient. I haven't given up on any of my stories. Bye for now! On with the story!

**K-Chan: **That didn't explain anything!

* * *

Siegfried slept soundly within the confines of the room he had rented for the night. The tightly woven blankets that had been given to him were sprawled haphazardly all over his battle worn body. To the left of his corner situated bed, was a small oak wooden table. It was bare except for a small map and the remains of what the sleeping knight had devoured for dinner.

The sky outside his window was as still as the sleeping figures underneath it. The air was eerily quiet, but such a thing was not uncommon for this time of night. In fact, this night was different than most. This was a rare night of peace. A night where most could lay in bed without fear of dangers coming to disturb them in the middle of the night. This was a night when Siegfried could let his guard down for the time being.

But he was no fool.

Even in what one would consider a deep slumber, the knight was still deeply on guard. His eyes were closed but his ears remained as sharp as daggers. He could see nothing, but he could hear everything. He could hear the window pane of a rustic old window opening up. He could hear the rustling of fabric as a breeze flew into the room. He could hear the tapping of fine crafted shoes on the wooden floor as they made their way to his bed. He could hear a hand reaching out to him.

Like any good knight, Siegfried could hear threats before he saw them. And like any good knight he could react to said threats in mere seconds. So when he felt a warm human hand lightly touching his back, he instinctively clutched onto the wrist it was too. He stood up in an instant, ready to attack if the need arose, but calmed slightly when he saw who was before him. It was a Hylian.

* * *

_Siegfried found himself looking into two very stunned and slightly confused blue eyes. The owner of those sea blue jewels looked down to his wrist, back up to Siegfried, before tilting his head in confusion._

_The knight sighed before he released his grip on the hand he held hostage. "Don't do that Link, I thought you were a bandit." He noticed the boy before him rubbing his now slightly purple wrist. "Did I hurt you?"_

_The elf smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Siegfried. I just got a little excited."_

"_Excited about what?"_

_Link got a playful smile on his face before reaching out for Siegfried's hand. The knight did not protest when the elf decided to drag him over to the window on the other side of the room, and he faithfully turned to a spot Link had pointed out in the night sky._

_Before his eyes was a sight seen only once in lifetime. A flock of bright shimmering stars shooting around in the midnight sky. Their brilliance greatly contrasted the dark ebony glow of the sky, but at the same time they complemented one another in a way only light and dark could. "It's a flock of shooting stars."_

_Link smiled widely before nodding. "I've never seen them grouped together like this. And this night was just so perfect. No clouds, no storms, no chilling winds," He turned his attention back to the knight. "I wanted to share it with someone." _

_Siegfried turned as well. "Why me?"_

_A shrug. "I don't know. You just seemed like you needed a miracle tonight."_

_The darker blond chuckled. "You call shooting stars a miracle?"_

_The angel blond, as Link had come to be called, when he wasn't around of course, simply continued to smile. "Of course. It's always a miracle to see something so brilliant fall and then return to grace."_

_Siegfried tilted his head. He had seen Link do it when the boy was confused or unsure about something. The small gesture made him look cute and added to his overall childish charm. But the knight was pretty sure it just made him look stupid. _

_Link understood him all the same. "There's an old folktale told to the children in my village. It says that stars are the spirits of warriors who died defending the kingdom. They shine brightly in the sky so that the people beneath it will always know how happy their guardians were to protect the country. Legend goes that in death they protect their new queen, the moon, from the darkness trying to hide her from her people down below."_

"_So if regular stars are warriors, then who are the shooting stars?"_

"_They say that soldiers can fall in battle in death just as they do in life. Shooting stars are the warriors who have died in battle protecting the moon. The reason their defeats are so beautiful, is because they don't wish to worry the children in the world of the living. So they give them a show to enjoy until they can rise up to fight again."_

"_That's nice story." It was nice to hear the elf speak of his homeland. Link rarely ever spoke of his life in Hyrule without getting homesick and slightly depressed. This story seemed to make the young warrior happy, and Siegfried felt oddly flattered that he was the one hearing it._

"_People say that's where I'm destined to go after I die."_

"_If you do, the moon will be extremely jealous."_

_Link tilted his head to the side, looking far too sweet and innocent for his own good._

"_You'll outshine her."_

_Link's smile was doing just that. "I knew it was a good idea to wake you up."_

_The other man chuckled. "It's too bad the others aren't up to hear this. Won't they be jealous when I tell them all about it in the morning?" _

_The elf's kind smile turned into a thoughtful frown for a second, before he snapped his fingers in joyful realization. "I should wake them up too!" And with that, he was out the door and off to one of the many rooms where his companions resided in._

_Siegfried watched him go with a smile on his face. The Hylian was always thinking of others, and he always wanted to share something wonderful with all the people he cared about. The knight supposed that was the result of being tossed around time like a ragdoll. Such a thing was horrible to go through, but it allowed one to keep both the innocence of childhood and the wisdom of adulthood. Still, sometimes Link was too innocent for his own good. He failed to realize that waking people up to star gaze, though selfless, was bound to earn him a few unwanted responses. Siegfried was pretty sure that when the elf tried to awaken one of the girls he would end up with a slap in the face. If it was Ivy it would probably be more of a broken arm. And if he tried to wake up one of the boys it could only get worse. Mitsurugi would probably slice his head in half… Voldo could turn him into shish kabob… or Lizardman could eat him…_

_And in an instant he was chasing after a very doomed and vulnerable elf. "Link, wait! At least take your shield with you! Or some pieces of meat!"

* * *

_

No. The Hylian before him was not Link. This one was female. She was far to petite and fragile. In his eyes she would never be able to hold her own in battle. Her eyes and hair were similar to his, but for some reason the knight found them to be much duller than the Hero of Time's happy and somehow wise features. Her hair was yellow, the kind of color you saw on a banana or a lemon. His hair was pure gold, the kind of flawless color the sun would be envious of. His eyes were the epitome of the sea. Bright when the day was happy and the sun was shining brightly, angry when a storm or battle appeared, sad when the rain brought bad news, and curious when the wind brought about new information. Her eyes were plain blue. There was simply no other way to describe them, and if he wasn't mistaken, they were also red and puffy.

"Who are you?"

She did not answer him. Her eyes were fixated on his bare chest.

"Who are you?" He repeated while tightening his hold on her delicate wrist.

She flinched. And before Siegfried could question her again a small ball of blue light with wings attacked his forehead. It didn't hurt, but the action greatly annoyed him.

"Hey listen!" It shouted. "We need your help."

Siegfried scoffed. "You attack me and then ask for my help? Please explain to me why in the seven hells _that_ would work." He was quickly becoming annoyed with the situation. "I'll ask you this one more time. Who. Are. You?"

She finally looked him in the eye. "Zelda."

Siegfried knew that name. And the second he heard it he tightened his grip immensely. It was almost as if he was trying to break the bone in her wrist. She flinched and he was once again under attack by the blue glowing orb. But he had no intention of letting her go.

Link had told him countless stories of all the trouble he had gotten into over the years. All the bruises, all the gashes, all the near death experiences, and all the discomfort he had endured all for the sake of one person. Princess Zelda. Princess Zelda, who dragged him into every battle she couldn't fight. Princess Zelda, who took away every life Link, had every single time they had been reincarnated. Princess Zelda, who never let Link have a life or a special someone to call his own because she wanted him to give her a chance. Princess Zelda, who was the only reason why Link was afraid to go back to his homeland, for fear she would be waiting for him.

"Well, well, well," He hissed at the girl before him. "If it isn't the destroyer of lives."

She went to slap him with her free hand only to find that he could grab it without any trouble at all. So she settled for scowling and hissing. "How dare you? You have some nerve."

He scoffed. "_I _have some nerve? _I_ have some nerve? Says the woman who sent an innocent child to do _her_ dirty work and save _her_ kingdom when she failed to do so." He tightened his grip, if that was even humanly possible. "How many of his lives have you ruined, hmm? 3, 5, all of them?"

She seemed shocked at his angry outburst.

"What, did you think he would keep his life a secret? I hate to tell you this, but he told me everything."

Link was a reincarnate. A person whose was destined to be reborn into a new life every time he died, until the fates decided he could move onto the afterlife. Link was not immortal, Siegfried knew there were rules and restrictions to his existence, but when he would truly die and rest in peace was still a mystery to him. Link had told the knight he found it unfair. As long as Zelda was in need of his services he could not die. Until she could handle her life on her own Link's life was not his own. The worst part about the whole thing was that Link remembered it all. All the memories of his past life, all the doubt, all the guilt, all the bitter emotions, were carried onto the next life. The Hylian could never have a clean slate. He could never forget what his princess had done to him. He could never forgive her for what she did to him.

"Why are you here?" He suddenly realized that she and the ball were the only others in his room. The object of his thoughts was nowhere in sight. "Speaking of which, where is Link?"

She scowled. "You're awfully bold to call him that. He's usually addressed formally as the Hero of Time."

"I'm aware, now where's Link?"

She looked down to her shoes which were shining a bit in the pale moonlight. However he was not in the mood for such childish games and he desperately wanted an answer. He used his other hand to forcefully grab her chin and raise it so that the two of them could see eye to eye.

"I want an answer. Where's Link?"

She glared at him, but frustratingly sighed when she realized that she had no choice. "Our hero has fallen into the hands of a danger unknown to me."

"How exactly did he land into the hands of such a danger?" If she confirmed what he believed to be true, then her hand was as good as dislocated from her wrist.

Surprisingly, it was the blue orb that answered the knight's question. "He was trying to protect the princess."

Oh. She was definitely about to lose a hand.


	2. The explanation he didn't want to hear

**MistressOfTime1218:** Now it's time for everyone to finally figure out what exactly happened to Link. The story is going to come straight from the one that got him there.

**K-Chan:** You mean Siegfried let Zelda live?

**DarkMist: **Does she keep all her body parts?

**StormBlitz:** Is she under extreme torture?

**MistressOfTime1218:** Yes, yes, and no. I was sorely tempted to kill her off, but then I would not have a story. Also, to anyone reading this, please do not hesitate to ask me to clarify anything. This story is bound to get a little complicated, especially when talking about the reason why Link was OOT Link in the beginning of the chapter, but is TP Link in the rest of the story. Please pay attention when anyone in the story asks how that is possible. The characters will answer the question as best as they can. If you're still confused, message me and I'll be happy to clear everything up. On with the story!

* * *

He wanted to kill her. He wanted to sever her wrist from her arm before making his way up to her neck. He wanted nothing more than to take hold of Zweihander and cut the pompous piece of royal trash before him in half. But if he did any of that he would be unable to discover why his best friend, yes his best friend, was in trouble.

It had taken every ounce of restraint he possessed in his body to respectively throw aside the girls wrist and demand she sit down on his bed. He himself had opted to stand up in front of her. He had a gut feeling this story was going to make him jolt up anyway. He might as well have gotten a head start.

"Talk."

She still refused to look at him. Her eyes remained on her wrist which had already started to bruise. Siegfried knew he should have felt guilty. He should have felt remorse for such a violent act. He should have at least looked sorry, like he had when he had done the same thing to Link two years ago. Then again this Hylian was not Link. It was his oppressor.

"Do I have to twist your other hand to get you started?" He caught the blue orb in his hand before it could attack his head again. "I have no problem in doing so."

She glared at him.

"You're not going to impress me with that little scowl of yours." He narrowed his eyes. "If you want me to shut up, I suggest you stop wasting my time. Tell me why you came here and why Link is not with you. Do not leave a single piece of information out."

She knew she had to speak sometime. She could see his patience was growing thin. He was more than happy to go through with his promise. "The Link you knew from before, he died a few years after returning to Hyrule."

Siegfried could feel his heart shattering and his eyes darted over to Zweihander. "What do you mean died? How?"

"His body had gone through far too much. Traveling through time and different worlds takes a lot of strength. He eventually grew tired. When a new disease found its way to Hyrule, his body was no longer in any shape to fight it."

The knight scowled. "He got sick? How on earth did that happen?" Link had never been sick a day in his life in this world. He was the one **treating **the sick and injured.

"Our hero never took care of himself as well as he should have."

"That's because he was too busy taking care of you." He spat. "Did you not see he was killing himself? Why didn't you tell him to slow down? You should have known he would have ignored his own health if only to see that someone else is safe from harm." He sounded so angry, so bitter.

She knew that the knight before her hated her for what she had done. "If it makes you feel any better my death came soon after his."

He didn't seem to care. "Where was he buried?" He narrowed his eyes. "You did bury him didn't you? You didn't cremate him and keep the ashes to yourself did you?"

She ignored his last two questions. "Deep within the remains of the Great Deku Tree. It was his dying request that he be near the creature so much like a father to him when it was finally his time to die."

Siegfried could not help but feel a bit relieved. It seemed that Link had not been completely looked over in death, as he had been in life. "So the reason you stand before me now, is because you two have been reincarnated again. Born once more as the princess and her kingdoms savior."

She nodded. "As always we were reborn with the memories of our past lives still intact. Nothing much had changed. The only difference this time around, was that our hero was gifted with normalcy for a short time. He was simply Link. A farm boy who lived in Ordon Village. He had an uncle, an expected aunt, and a little cousin named Collin."

"And as always, a problem that you couldn't take care of came up. Link had to once again, abandon his happy life in order to guarantee yours." He had a hard time keeping the anger out of his voice. "That still doesn't explain why you're here. That problem should have been taken care of by now and besides, that's Hyrule business. It should have nothing to do with this world."

She hesitated. "When we met each other again, I finally had the courage to ask him what happened in this world. He didn't say much, only that some things should always remain a secret."

"Really?" He shrugged. "That's funny. He told me all about you and his life back in Hyrule. I don't recall him ever keeping a secret from me." That was a cheap shot and Siegfried knew it.

Zelda knew it too. But she refused to comment. Siegfried wasn't sure if it was because she had nothing to say or because she had chosen to keep that royal and majestic air of graceful silence that all royalty seemed to possess. Quite frankly, he didn't care either way.

"He never wanted to talk about it." She said at last. She was calm, quite, almost ice cold. "At first I thought it was too painful for him to bear. But he seemed so…"

"So what? So sad, so depressed, so heartbroken?"

"Happy." She concluded at last. "He seemed so happy when he spoke of this world."

Siegfried seemed to get a strange sense of satisfaction from that.

"I just wanted to understand him. I wanted to know why he seemed to cherish this place so much."

"You could have just asked him."

"He wouldn't have told me."

He knew that. Siegfried knew that Link would have avoided every possible opportunity to have a touching heart to heart moment with his princess. He would make excuses, disappear from the face of the earth, hell the elf would even taken on another life or death quest, if only to stay away from Zelda. "He would have told me."

She glared at him. As a princess she was unused to people, especially knights and soldiers, challenging her authority or pushing her buttons. Especially when it came to Link. "You seem so sure."

He smirked. "He told me about you didn't he?"

She would not answer him.

"Like I said, start from the beginning."

She sighed. "It all started one afternoon after our hero had journeyed deep within a forest near Ordon. I had decided to take matters into my own hands and investigate his past journey into your world…"

* * *

_The deepest dungeon in Hyrule. Rat infested, littered wall to wall with skeletons, and filled with the odor of old flesh and dried up blood. There was no light. None who had been sent there before had even deserved such a luxury. This was meant to be a place of silent punishment. A place where the darkest of human souls were to be stripped of their basic human rights. A place where crimes were to be paid for with blood, sweat, and tears. It was no place for a princess._

_Yet there she was. Walking in the hallow corridors with nothing but a lantern and a small fairy by her side. She was foolish, in a sense, for walking down such a dangerous labyrinth garbed in nothing but her princess attire. There was not even a sword at her side, not that she would have made much use of the blade anyway._

"_Princess," The fairy felt she had to whisper even though no one was there. This particular section of the royal dungeons was forbidden to house criminals of any kind. There was something far more dangerous under lock and key. "I don't think this is very wise. Link said,"_

"_Our hero has said nothing to me about this subject in some time." In fact, he had not spoken to her at all in over a month. He had avoided the castle like the plague. When it became absolutely necessary to venture close or into the royals walls of the castle, he was in and out like a trick of the light. She never saw him._

_Shaking off the obvious ache in her heart, she turned a sharp corner. She was relieved when she saw she had come across an old worn out door with a unique carving near the doorknob. It was fairly easier to get lost in such a dark and morbid area. She had not been sure she was going to be able to find the entrance she needed. She knew, of course, that she was indeed standing at the correct door. Link had made that mark himself. Zelda remembered the look of utter concentration Link had possessed when he created the marking. It was a shape he had seen many times in his past life. The eye that used to adorn the mask of truth._

"_Princess," The fairy spoke again, taking Zelda from her musings. "You know he would be very upset if he knew what you were planning. He told you never to open what was sealed."_

_That had been the reason why he had slashed a line through the same line he had drawn._

"_**Princess," His voice had been so firm that day. So unlike the kind and playful hero his people all adored. "You must remember. Keep what is behind this door out of sight and out of mind."**_

"_**Why?" She had questioned. "That item was yours in your past life. You deserve to have possession of it once more."**_

_**He looked almost remorseful when he had locked the door. "It's true. That item was very precious to me. I used it often and I admit it did me a world of good." He smiled as a far off memory made its way to his mind. "Actually, it did me two worlds of good." His smile faded just as easily as it arrived. "But don't misunderstand. You must never think of taking it out of here."**_

"_**I still don't understand."**_

"_**This is one thing you don't need to understand."**_

_He had refused to say another word on the subject. Zelda had not ventured down to the dungeons since that day._

_But now she had done what she had promised never to do. She had to admit, she was nervous. No, she was afraid. She was afraid that by coming down there, by taking out the key she had been entrusted with, she was setting herself up for a confrontation she could not handle. Afraid of something she could not understand. Afraid that Link himself would come down and try and stop her._

_The door let out an eerie screech until it had hit the wall behind it, allowing the lantern to give light into the familiar layout of the small room. Link had demanded this room be kept simple. Simplicity was inconspicuous. Simplicity never tangoed with curiosity.  
_

_The room was small, only allowing any normal adult enough room to walk in a single straight line. There was no room to turn around. In fact, there was barely enough room for Zelda to walk in. She was forced to leave the lantern at the doorway. The wall directly opposite of the entrance had an old stone pillar with a simple wooden box on top of it. The box was nothing to gawk it. In fact it looked almost as innocent as the hero who had put it there._

"_I don't think we should do this."_

"_Hush Navi. I know what I'm doing."_

_She walked the short distance to the wooden box, only stopping to ghost her hand over the old wooden lid. Gathering up her courage, she opened it quickly and took out the item she had come there to retrieve. It had been a while since she had felt the smooth blue marble this object was made out of. She was surprised. It was as new and as beautiful as the day she first held it._

"_The Ocarina of Time." Just saying the name brought back memories long forgotten. "Now, what melody did he play the last time? The one he used to go to that other world?"_

_The fairy was not willing to answer. _

"_Navi, I order you to speak. Which song did he use to open that door?"_

_A frustrated sigh escaped the fairy. "The song you taught him many years ago. The song of time."_

_She put the instrument to her lips and began to play. It was a song that had passed down since ancient times. A melody that had burned itself into her mind. A memento from a past life. She was surprised she could play it as well so well. After all, it had literally been a lifetime since the song had even been played. _

_But there was something different about the song this time. Or rather, there was something wrong with the way it sounded. _

"_What's this?" She took the Ocarina away from her mouth to examine it. Nothing seemed out of place, but that odd feeling was still there._

"_Something wrong?"_

_She continued to stare. It was ridiculous really. Just staring at an object for a given amount of time wasn't going to change it, at least not usually. _

_But this time it did._

_The once blue marble of the brilliant item began to turn black. Before Zelda could drop it, dark black almost serpent like hands clutched onto her writs. Her first instinct was to tell Navi to run, to go off and find some help. But that plan was quickly foiled when another hand shot up to grab the fairy, and they didn't stop there. Dozens more started shooting out, engulfing the room in complete darkness. It was not long before they had completely engulfed her as well. By then all she could do was scream.

* * *

_

"You mean to tell me you went in there without his permission?"

"It's my castle." She argued. "I can decide if I can or cannot walk through the dungeon in **my own castle**."

"You fool." This was the person responsible for the lives of an entire kingdom? He was surprised they were all still alive. "Link used that song to seal away the very spirit of Soul Edge in that Ocarina. Playing it, especially **that song**, would only release what had been sealed."

"I was unaware of that. He never told me about it."

"But he did tell you to stay away from it. That should have been enough warning."

She was silent.

"So you got possessed by Soul Edge, what happened next?"

"My people were forced to leave the city around the castle. I had become a monster."

"As if you weren't one already."

"My people would disagree with you."

"Your people helped force an 18 year old to solve their problems for them. I don't think they're the best example to go by."

She went silent once more.

"So you were left on your own, trapped in your own castle I assume?" She nodded. "What next?"

"Our hero was, unfortunately, nowhere near the castle at this point. He had already saved our current Hyrule from a terrible darkness called twilight and had set off to prepare for a final confrontation with the person responsible for it." She looked up at him, pure mistrust and dislike in her eyes. "I'm assuming you know the man I speak of."

Of course he knew. Link had told him. "Ganondorf."

She nodded. "He too had heard about the mysterious power I had obtained…"

* * *

_Soul Edge loved the feeling of a new host. The body, the mind, the soul, it was all so fresh and clean. It all so pure. It was all his to dirty with blood and massacre. This particular host, this princess, was especially fulfilling._

_She had a unique power, not unlike the one that accursed child had used to seal him in that blasted instrument. It was divine, almost God like, and he had enjoyed using it to murder the girl's beloved guards. His one regret was that his use of such power was limited. If he attempted to take control of it fully, he was bound to kill his current hostess and delete this power altogether. This energy surging through him, this unstoppable amount of control, was too sweet to let go of. He could not, would not, risk it._

_But, lucky for him, this girl was not the only one capable of housing such a marvelous gift.  
_

_He felt his lips twitch when the doors of the castle had been broken down. He sensed a power, much like the one he had now, coming fourth in the form of an overly tanned red headed male wearing black desert gear. This man strolled into the castle as though it was nothing, only stopping when he reached the steps that led to the throne that Soul Edge now sat in. _

"_I sense a dark presence within the girl," He said. "Who are you?"_

_Soul Edge smirked. "My name is of no consequence. But yours would be very much appreciated." _

"_The names Ganondorf, the future master of Hyrule." He pointed to the throne Soul Edge was seated on. "And you happen to be in my seat."_

_This man had guts. The evil blade would give him that. "You are no ordinary Hylian." The sword observed. "No, you're on a different level entirely. What is this power I sense? This power so similar to that of this princess?" _

_Ganondorf scoffed. "Her power, similar to mine? Don't make me laugh."_

_Soul Edge raised an eyebrow. "Oh, am I wrong?"_

"_The only similarity we share is that we both have pieces of the triforce."_

_The triforce. An ancient power created by the three goddesses of this world. His hostesses' memories, which were now his to read as he saw fit, told him she had been chosen to wield a specific piece of this magnificent creation. "This princess, Zelda I believe, has been granted the triforce of wisdom." His eyes darted over to his left hand. "It is strong."_

"_Not as strong as mine." This man seemed very sure of that. "Mine is the triforce of power."_

_**That**__ had the dark blades attention. "Power? So yours would be stronger, more potent, than this one?"_

"_Naturally."_

_In a flash Soul Edge was behind the one who called himself Ganondorf. The male red head was unable to move, frozen as if something was pinning him to his spot at the base of the stairs._

"_If you're so strong," There were suddenly talons grazing the sides of Ganondorf's neck. "Then you should be just what I need to get a body of my own."_

"_You have the girls." The tanned man suddenly knew where this was going, and it was nowhere he wanted to be._

"_Yes, but as you have just told me, she is weak. I only have control of __**her**__ body, but with strength like yours, I could very well become a solid human with a body of my own."_

"_You won't succeed. Taking over someone else's body won't give you your own. You'll only get the same result you have now."_

_Soul Edge chuckled. The sound sent shivers up the others spine. "Who said anything about switching hosts? That's not what I have planned for you."_

"_Then how-"_

_He could feel a warm breath right next to his ear. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'You are what you eat'?"_

_Another scream rang out through the country of Hyrule.

* * *

_

"You **ate** him?" Siegfried felt like throwing up.

She scowled. "It was **that** creature in **my** body."

That did not make him feel any better. Siegfried still felt his dinner attempting to rise up from his stomach. Had he considered himself anything less than an epitome of strength he would have seriously considered throwing up then and there. But sickness was a form of weakness. The last thing he needed was this princess thinking he had anything that even remotely resembled a weak spot. Especially if that weak spot was a weak stomach. "Please tell me you didn't eat Link."

She glared at him. "This is no time for jokes."

The funny thing was, Siegfried was far from joking. "So how exactly did Link get involved in all this?"

"Would you stop calling him by name?" It was more of a demand than a request.

"Would you rather I call him by a pet name?" She shook her head. "Then stop complaining."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "To answer your question, he came to save me." She could see he wanted to say something, so she continued before he got the chance. "This thing you call Soul Edge used Ganondorf's devoured spiritual energy and flesh to create a body of his own, if you want to call it that."

"What do you mean?"

"The thing looked more like a walking corpse than anything else."

As if he weren't sick enough. "What I want to know is why did he keep you alive?"

"His body was there, but it was far from stable. He still needed the power of my triforce to feed and keep him from falling apart. I was kept in one of the dungeons below the castle, only allowed to come out when he needed more energy for his new body. Word was sent to the Hero of Time and he came to get me…"

* * *

_She had never been happier to see him. She had never been happier to feel his surprisingly soft hands on her delicate wrists. She had never been happier to see that reassuring smile she loved so much._

"_You came."_

_The elf focused his attention on removing the steel shackles holding her against the wall. "You needed me didn't you?"_

_She was surprised by the tone in his voice. It was so kind and gentle. So unlike the harsh and cold hiss she had expected. "I'm sorry."_

_The steel chains that had once kept her captive fell to the floor with a few sharp clangs. "You did what you thought was best. There's no need to feel sorry for that." _

_Once she had been taken care of, Link set to work on releasing his fairy friend. The small creature had posed no real use to Soul Edge. As such she had been kept in the dungeons in the smallest cage available. It was so small, in fact, that there was barely any room to breathe. This cage was steel as well, but thankfully the metal had rusted along with the sands of time. It was not difficult for Link to break._

_But the fairy did not move._

"_Is she alright?"_

_Link held the fairy close to his chest, searching for a sign of life. A pulse that would assure him that his small friend was alive. He was relieved when a faint beating began synchronizing with his own heartbeat. "She's tired. Let her rest a bit and she'll be fine." _

_Carefully, so as to not wake up his injured friend, he ripped off a pouch from the brown leather belt he wore on his waist before casually taking off the green hat off the top of his head. He gently wrapped Navi up in the green fabric before placing the wrapped fairy in the ripped off pouch. He paused for a moment, looking back and forth between Zelda and Navi's new resting place. He looked as though he were in deep concentration, and almost seemed to doubt the intelligence of what he was about to do next._

_But he finally had no choice but to hand Navi over to Zelda. "Please make sure to keep her safe."_

"_Why not just put her in a bottle?"_

_He shook his head. "It's made of glass. She might get hurt while we're moving." _

_Zelda should have known. Link was always quite gentle with __**Navi**__. He was always making sure __**Navi**__ was safe. That had been why he demanded __**Navi**__ hide in his hat during some of his toughest battles. He wanted his fairy safe at all times. Zelda was not sure he felt the safe way about her.

* * *

_

"Wait, wait, wait," Siegfried felt as though he had to interrupt. "You were jealous of a two inch blue ball of light with wings?" A glare was his only response. "You're pathetic you know that?"

By this point Navi had given up on trying to get Siegfried to keep his opinions to himself. She could only assume that this instant rivalry between the two would continue until Link was there beside them, smiling brightly and safe from harm.

"Would you let me finish this story?"

Siegfried had the strongest desire to deny her angry request, but he knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him. "Go on."

"From there, The Hero of Time managed to free Navi and me from the castle dungeons."

"Did he fight his way out?" Link had a tendency to overlook how much danger he put himself in when he attempted to rescue someone else. Mitsurugi had often scolded him for his rash and often thoughtless behavior.

She shook her head. "I thought he would try something like that, but he surprised me. He had dug an elaborate tunnel into the dungeons and used those same tunnels to help us escape. Once we had resurfaced he had Epona ready to take us to our next destination."

Siegfried was impressed. Escaping through hidden tunnels had been a trick the young elf had learned from Yoshimitsu. The thief had bragged that the technique was the most effective way to deal with a hostage and rescue situation. Apparently, Link had been paying attention.

"He took as far as the old Temple of Time. It was collapsing and had been abandoned for years, but for the most part it was decent. That was the original location our hero had used to get to your world."

"So what happened? The way your story goes it seem like you should have made it out of there with no problems."

Zelda gripped the fine satin fabric of her dress tightly in her fists. "We had an unexpected dilemma."

Siegfried already knew where this was going. "No,"

"Yes," She seemed almost close to tears. "Soul Edge followed us…"

* * *

_Link could honestly say he was not afraid._

_When you were afraid of something, your heart would beat beyond the confines of your chest. When you were afraid of something, you were gazing into the eyes of something you had never seen before, something you did not know how to deal with. When you were afraid, you were unarmed and unprepared to fight what was before you. When you were afraid of something, you were never completely sure you __**could**__._

_He was not afraid. _

_Link's heart was not pounding against his chest. His heart had completely burst out of him altogether and was probably sitting on the floor beneath him, all too glad that its torment was over. When Link gazed into the eyes of his enemy, he did not see the unfamiliarity of a mystery he had never experienced before. He knew what was in front of him. He had seen it before. Link was was not debating whether or not he could defeat the danger that now lay before him. He was absolutely positive that he had no chance in Hell at beating what was before him._

_He was not afraid. He was utterly horrified._

"_YOU!" That voice was poison to the young elf's ears. "YOU'RE THE LITTLE BRAT WHO SEALED ME IN THAT ACCURSED INSTRUMENT!"_

_Link would be lying if he said he had never thought about what Soul Edge would look like as a human being. Back when he had first entered Siegfried's world he had actually thought about the subject often. He had even brought it up in conversations with the German knight himself. Many thoughts had loomed through his head, ranging from Ganondorf to Nightmare like appearances. But no matter what he came up with, one thing always remained the same. Human Soul Edge was a terrifying sight to behold._

_The Soul Edge before him was not what he had expected. The 'body' before him was nothing more than undead remains of what used to be living flesh. Brown, rotten, and decomposed skin clumped together in a makeshift model of the human body. Link almost expected the whole thing to start falling apart right then and there. A dark dirt red liquid, it might have been the dark blades version of blood, shot through a thick murky tube, it must have been some type of vein, that curved in and out of every limb in what Link could only describe as a walking corpse. _

_No, it was not what he had expected. But it was terrifying all the same._

_It took a step toward him, and he took a step back. His face was calm and unaffected, but his mind was telling him to run. Epona was behind him with Zelda safely strapped to her saddle. The door to Siegfried's world had been opened. He could run. If he really wanted to, he could jump right on Epona and run. Except, he knew he would never make it. He would be killed before he reached the door, and all hope of destroying this monster would be gone. There was only one way this was going to have some type of happy ending._

"_Princess!" He reached down to his belt. Another brown pouch was ripped off of the sturdy leather it had once been attached to, and swiftly thrown at Zelda._

_Soul Edge raised it arms, sensing what the boy was about to do, and threw a particular batch of dark energy at the young hero. Link had managed to block it with his Hylian shield, but the dark matter did not stop. It kept pushing him, trying to break apart his shield and make it to his body. Soul Edge would not move from his spot in the doorway. His body was weak. It craved the strength and nourishment of the power that had created it. It cried out for the power of the Triforce. The power that Link had taken away. The power that Soul Edge was desperate to retrieve. And so __the attacks continied, each becoming a little weaker than the last, but somehow adding to the strength of the energy that was already there._

_Link knew he did not have the strength to keep them at bay for long. "Princess!" He called again. "Go through the door. Find a man named Siegfried Schtauffen. Ask for his help."_

"_But you," She could not leave him behind.  
_

_He only smiled. "I'll be fine." He was such a liar. "Epona, go!" _

_The horse did not want to adhere to such an order. She was no fool. She knew that if she ran the cnahces of seeing her master agian was slim. To never be able see that smile again, to never again be able to hear that warm laughter, was too horrible to think about. She had no desire to make such thoughts become a reality. But the look Link's eyes, the fear in his smile, told her something he could not convey through words. Something she did not want to believe. Something that could very well become reality if she refused to move. With with a few tears in her eyes, and a promise in her heart, she sped off before the portal could close completely. The last thing any of them before the door sealed itself once more, was the last scream that managed to ring all throughout Hyrule. The final cry of the last of the Triforce holders.

* * *

_

"I cannot be certain what he is going through," Zelda admitted. "But I can only assume it's as severe as my treatment was."

"You'd be wrong." His eyes finally landed on his blade sitting on a wall opposite of the bed Zelda sat on. "His treatment would be far worse." He went around the room quickly, trying to gather up all his possessions with a semi cool head on his shoulders. "Link was the one who sealed away that damn abomination in the ocarina. There's no doubt in my mind that Soul Edge would still hold a grudge. He's probably paying Link back for all the time he spent sealed away."

"You think he's being punished?"

"I think he's being tortured."

The two were silent until the knight finished packing up all his possessions in a brown knaps sack. Zelda was a little alarmed that the German knight was so quiet. He had had no problems in showing his deep dislike of her before, so she could not quite figure out why he was not doing so now. He was angry after all, hell he was practically glowing with murderous intent. So why was he not saying anything about it?

"I'm not going to kill you." He said as though he could read her thoughts. "You're the only one who knows how to get back to Hyrule. I can't afford to let you die. At least, not until Link is safe."

Somehow, that did not give the princess an ounce of comfort.

* * *

He could not help but smile. "So this is how you found me." He walked up to the happily neighing creature and gently ran his hands over the horse's nose. She was a friend of Link's, someone who had protected and respected the young elf in all that he had done. She was special to Link, so she was special to Siegfried, and he was happy to see her.

Epona, it seemed, was just as happy to see him. It had surprised him a bit. He had not seen her in years, but she still knew who he was. She knew he was the man who would eventually help rescue her master.

Siegfried untied the rope that bound the horse to one of the wooden pillars and tried to hand it over to Zelda. But she backed away until she had almost tripped over the steps that led back up to the entrance of the inn.

"What's the matter with you?" He tried to hand her the reins once more. "Just take the reins and get on Epona."

She shook her head.

"This is not the time to act stubborn. We need help, and a decent plan as to what we're going to do." He explained as gently as he could, which, considering who he was talking to, was not all that gentle at all. "If we're going to do that we need to start , as much as it pains me to say this, traveling together to a list of places to find people who can help us out."

She just kept shaking her head.

"Listen," He was quickly becoming annoyed with the princess in front of him. "The first stop on this list is a town **78 miles** away. With you along, we won't get there until tomorrow night. I can't afford to let you slow this trip down by walking in overly priced shoes that will only let you move three meters an hour. Now. Get. On. The. Horse."

She still would not move. "She won't let me ride her."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Seeing that the princess refused to answer, Navi spoke up instead. "Epona is very angry with the princess. She bucked her off the second we arrived at this inn. She won't even allow the princess to get near her now."

"If I even attempt to she tries to bite off my hands."

Siegfried sighed in frustration. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

* * *

**MistressOfTime1218:** Sorry this was so late. I'm sick, and the doctors still don't know what's wrong with me, so it's been a bit difficult to write anything decent. I hope I've made up for it with this ridiculously long chapter. And boy do I mean long. Its 20 friggen pages long on word. But if you're still mad, you can yell at me. (Hides behind Link's shield) I can take it.


	3. The basic plan

MistressOfTime1218: Kay, third chapter is about to be up and running.

StormBlitz: That took longer than the last one.

MistressOfTime1218: But it's just as long. Besides I'm pretty sure no one's still mad at me.

StormBlitz: Then why do you still have Link's shield in front of you?

MistressOfTime1218: Pshh, obviously I'm holding it until Link get's back.

StormBlitz: I see. So why'd you ask him for the sword?

MistressOfTime1218: It goes well with the shield?

StormBlitz: Just forget it.

DarkMist: MistressOfTime1218 does not own Soul Calibur, Legend of Zelda, or anything that involves Brawl. If she did, Link would be in absolutely everything.

MistressOfTime1218: On with the story!

* * *

He knew he probably should not have taken her in there. In places like these, where smoke is considered high class perfume and pocket knives are world class belt buckles, people like her were bound to be in trouble.

She was a high class lady. Someone who enjoyed the finer things life had to offer her. She had been fortunate enough to be born into a life where she had everything. Clothes to keep her warm in the winter, food to keep her nourished and able, an education to help her understand the world, and morals to keep her soul as pure as it possibly could be.

These people had no such luxuries. They were born on the streets where the only cloths and food they ever received were the ones they had to steal for themselves. They had no money. They could only ever consider themselves wealthy if they robbed, or killed, a particularly rich merchant or a duke of some kind. And the biggest difference of all was that these people had no morals. They did not care who lived or died, as long as they were alive and well. It was a dog eat dog world after all, and there was no room for sympathy.

Still, even though it might have been a mistake, Siegfried knew that he and Zelda would not be followed into the pub. That fact that it was dangerous meant that no one would think he would ever risk taking a princess inside. It was about as inconspicuous as he could afford to get. Besides, as long as the two of them kept their cloaks on at all times, they would not attract any unwanted attention. He hoped.

"I don't like this place."

Siegfried quickly looked around their table to see if anyone had heard her. He doubted any one would, as he had chosen a table as far away from the crowd in the establishment as possible, but you could never be too careful. "Keep your voice down." He warned. "Talk like that could get you killed."

She pulled the hood of the cloak even further down on her head. "Remind me again why we're here."

"I told you, we need a plan." He called over a nearby waitress and asked that she bring him a pencil and piece of paper. He knew that he had to think about his next move very carefully. In all honesty, he had never expected something like this to happen. When Link had left this world two years ago, Siegfried assumed that would be the last that anyone would ever hear of Soul Edge. He never anticipated that anyone would release what had been so carefully sealed away.

"Can't we just go back now? What's stopping us from rescuing our hero this very second?"

That had been what the German knight had wanted to do in the first place. In fact his first instinct, upon hearing what had happened to the elf, had been to grab his sword and rush off into battle. Now that he had taken some time to cool off he could clearly see how completely stupid that was. Something this important, something this dangerous, could not be handled so foolishly. There were too many risks.

For one thing, Siegfried did not know if Zelda had been followed here. Sure, she had not mentioned seeing anything following her into the portal, but that meant nothing at all to him. For all he knew Soul Edge could have sent some type of shadow creature after the princess in order to ensure she never made it back home. The thought had never crossed the knight's mind before, but neither did the thought of Soul Edge actually receiving his own body. That had been why he had insisted on disguising, and hiding, themselves for as long as they could. He had no way of knowing who was stalking them, just waiting to strike from within the shadows.

Besides, there was no guarantee that he would be able to fight such a monstrous enemy on even terms. Siegfried, though he would never admit it, was not strong enough to fight Soul Edge on his own. It had taken over him before, it could do so again. He had fought against his other side and had eventually broken free, even helped Link seal the dammed thing away, but his gut told him not to dwell too much on those facts. After all, Link had done most of the sealing and Link was the reason he had been able to break free in the first place. He hated to admit it, but he would need help, and a lot of it. He could not risk losing this fight, because if he did it would be Link paying the price. Siegfried would not let Link pay for his mistake.

"Too risky," The waitress finally returned and threw down Siegfried's requested items before running to take a local bandit's order. The young German would have thought such an action inexcusably rude, if he had not been so focused on the task at hand. "We can't afford to make any mistakes."

He began scribbling down anything he thought might help. Name's places, weapons, anything and everything he thought might give him an edge when confronting Soul Edge. Ten minutes went by, and almost every weapon he could think of had been scratched off of the piece of paper. In fact the only sword still on the list was Soul Calibur, something he had no time to look for, and something that had gone missing when Link had left. It really was useless to try and think of a location that would give him some type of clue as to how to beat the evil blade. The only place he could even think of was Ostriensburg Castle and he was never setting foot in that place again. Besides, it was next to useless if he wanted to help someone in another world.

That just left his list of names. "I'll be honest with you," He found himself wishing for some type of drink to magically appear in his hand. "You are going to have a very hard time in this world. We'll be lucky if you manage to live through this."

He could feel her glaring at him through the fabric of the cloak. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a warning." He leaned back in his chair, holding up the list so that he could easily see the names he had written down the moment before. "You've made a lot of enemies simply by telling me you put Link in danger. Believe it or not he had friends in this world, friends that will be just as angry, if not more so, than me. And unfortunately for you, they're exactly the kind of help we need."

She knew he was serious. "How many?"

"Too many for you to handle." He handed her the paper and opted to rest his head on the table. He could feel the presence of an oncoming migraine.

Zelda looked over the list carefully, trying to see if she was able to recognize any of them. "Who is Sophitia?"

Siegfried caught the undertone of jealousy. "You can calm down, she won't go after Link. She's happily married and has two children." She seemed to calm down. "However, her sister, Cassandra, will. She's had a crush on him ever since he rescued her niece and nephew."

She glared at him, yet again.

He couldn't see it, but he just knew she was giving him all sorts of dirty looks. "Watch out for them. Sophitia won't go crazy and kill you, since she's really not a violent person, but she did consider him one of her own. No one messes with one of her kids and gets away with it. Cassandra will most likely have to be restrained. Her infatuation with him was strong, probably still is."

"What about this Seong Mina person?"

Siegfried found it amusing that she had started questioning the women first, when he had put the men at the top of the list. "She's a girl Link and I happened to run into when we ran into a young man named Yunseong. This guy was hiding from her and he asked Link to help him out. You know as well as I do that Link can't refuse a cry for help. Eventually the two ended up fighting. He beat her and she was very impressed by him. The two taught each other a few tricks and the rest is history. She considers him a good friend as well as a strong fighter. Yunseong pretty much thinks the same. Both will be pretty mad about what happened to Link, so don't anger them anymore than you already have."

"And what about this Taki person?"

"She's another one you have to watch out for. She's a ninja. We found her passed out in a forest after she had been poisoned by a group of bandits. Those potions Link had on him saved her life. Apparently, some kind of ninja code says that if someone saves you, you owe them your life. Or at least that was the excuse she gave us when she decided to stick around for a while. Link was the only man she could really stand. He was so innocent to her. She wanted to protect him as much as possible from the tainted outside world. When she hears this story you're going to be in a lot of trouble."

Zelda knew that. If Siegfried was any indication, she was in a lot of danger. "Ivy? Isn't that some type of weed?"

"Let her catch you saying that and you'll be six feet underground. She's an alchemist and the daughter of an undead pirate named Cervantes. Quite the solitary creature. She blockaded herself into her own home for years hoping to eventually die alone. Link refused to leave her side until he could somehow get her to understand that she did not have to be alone. It took a little while, but he eventually got through to her. She was never able to thank him enough."

"So were they… close?"

"She called him her sun."

Zelda did not wish to go any further. "Talim?"

"A young wind priestess who was very fond of Link. He rescued her from a creature we all called Necrid. He was as soft hearted as she was and they ended up convincing me to let the guy go. She considered him her older brother and respected and admired him greatly. Barely a day passed when she was not by his side. She was devastated when Link had to return to Hyrule. If she could have, she would have gone with him."

"Xianghua?" The last women on the list. "How did you find her?"

"Technically, she found us. We had barely managed to escape a ship full of bandits at the time. We had been fighting for what seemed like ages before we finally had to jump of the boat in a last ditch effort to get away. When she found us we were knocked unconscious on the shore of some type of beach. Took care of us for awhile, and when we got better she asked us for a favor. She wanted us to help her find her friend Kilik who had gone after their other friend Maxi. Of course, Link did the hero thing and got both of them back to her in one piece. It wasn't easy, he took quite the beating for interfering in other people's business, but we got three new allies out of the deal. He thought it was worth it."

"Yoshimitsu." She read out loud. "I think I've heard our hero mention him before, when he had rescued me using those tunnels."

"I'm not surprised. Link looked up to him a lot."

"Was he a warrior?"

"Kind of. He knew his way around a sword, but his profession was that of a bandit. Link was amazed by this real life Robin Hood and proceeded to learn all he could from the thief. Yoshimitsu took a liking to Link early so he never minded the onslaught of questions Link always seemed to have right up his sleeve. I thank Yoshimitsu for any kind of street smarts Link has, for you see, those are his doing."

"You haven't told me how you two met up with this bandit."

"He can tell you that himself when you meet him. I'm not one to go spreading private business around."

"A simple meeting is private business? My, this man must have been very secretive."

"Extremely." A smile found its way onto Siegfried's face. "He wore a mask 24/7. It used to drive Link crazy. I guess he didn't like it when people didn't show their face."

Zelda fidgeted slightly. She knew that Link did not just simply dislike it when someone hid their face behind a mask. He absolutely despised it, hated it with a passion, and she knew the reason why. Heck, she **was** the reason why. However, she was less than eager to say such a thing to Siegfried.

"You'll notice," He began. "That there are two human beings left on that list. The first is Mitsurugi, a samurai who became a sort of surrogate father to Link, and Raphael, who appointed himself as Link's older brother."

"Hold on," She glanced back down at the list in her hands. "You said there were only two others left. There are still two names on this list."

"What I said was there were only two other _human beings_ left on the list."

She frowned, and this time she lifted her hood up so he could see her frown. "Come now, isn't that a bit harsh?"

She sounded a bit like Link when she said that. "It's harsh because it's true. I'll admit, Lizardman was human **once**, but now he's nothing more than a giant reptile. And as for Voldo…" He shivered. "I don't even want to think of what Voldo was. Hell I don't even know what he is now."

Her frown deepened.

"Look, when you see them, you can decide for yourself what you want you want to call them. I don't consider them human, so I won't mark them as such."

"What does our hero consider them?"

"He, of course, considers them his friends. They, however, consider him their master."

Zelda almost fell out of her seat. "What?"

Siegfried shrugged. "Beats me. He saved them, and after that they deemed him worthy enough to be their master. I guess they too got caught up in his innocent charm."

"And he just let them think that?" She was almost shrieking.

"Calm down." He said harshly before he continued. "What was he supposed to do? Say, 'I'm flattered now leave'? He would never be so cruel." **'No matter how many times I told him it was perfectly fine to do so in their case.'** He added in his mind.

"So many names." She seemed utterly exhausted. Had she been any one else Siegfried might have actually felt sorry for her.

"So many people you need to be wary of."

She looked over to him desperately. "Isn't there anyone I don't have to worry about?"

He sighed. "Let me break it down for you. Link is important to four different groups in this world. The first is his surrogate family. His mother, Sophitia, will not like you one bit. She won't kill you. His father, Mitsurugi, will probably be disgusted with you. He won't kill you. Talim, his sister, will be devastated by your decision. She will not kill you. Raphael, his older brother, will hate you with all he's got, and this guy **will** kill you if given the chance."

"Three out of four isn't bad."

"Then we have his female friends. Xianghua won't like you, but she's a bit to kind hearted to kill you. Seong Mina won't kill you either."

Zelda felt herself relax.

"She'll just beat on you whenever she gets the chance."

And she immediately stiffened.

"Cassandra will have the intent to kill, but she'll be so loud you'll be able to hear her coming, so the chance of her actually landing a hit on you is slim. Taki you have to watch out for. She's the epitome of silent but deadly. Ivy, well I don' know what she'll do but it can't be anything good."

Zelda could feel a headache coming on.

"His guy friends won't be much better. Kilik will be polite, which is the best deal you could ask for so you should consider yourself lucky and leave it at that. Maxi will hate your guts and will do anything in his power to make your life utterly miserable. The only good thing about him is that he would never resort to hitting a woman, at least, not unless he's in a fair fight with her. Yunseong will be the loudest of all your enemies. He'll be mad at you all the time, but the worst he'll do is yell."

"Oh that's all?" She muttered sarcastically.

"Now his pets," What he preferred to call Voldo and Lizardman. "Will want to kill you. Scratch that. They will want to kill you, chop you up, throw the pieces down on the ground, spit on them, kick them in the mud, and feed them to something that will probably be vicious and savage."

"Please don't hold back on my account."

He shrugged. "You wanted to know."

He heard her head fall onto the table. He had to admit. It was very amusing to see such a high class lady acting like an over worked child. "Anymore questions?"

"Just one." She mumbled. "With little exception, you've told me how our hero came to be acquainted with each of the individuals you've mentioned."

He blinked. "Yes." He really could not understand why she couldn't just speak normally. Formality was fine when someone was in a castle or some type of high class court. But in a pub like this, speech like hers just seemed really awkward. It was a lot better, and a lot more inconspicuous, to speak like you would on the streets.

"So how did **you** meet him?"

Siegfried was surprised. He was not expecting such a question.

* * *

"_Who are you?" Nightmare asked as he drew his sword from its sheath._

_The blonde teenager, for there was no way he could have been an adult, in front of him took the opportunity to unsheathe his sword as well. __"My name is of no consequence. But yours would be very much appreciated." _

_The dark knight noticed a pair of pointed ears atop a mop of golden hair. "You're not human, at least, not the ones I'm familiar with."_

_The boy smirked and lowered his body, mocking the knight before him with a simple bow. "Thank you for noticing. I'm a Hylian, you're people would call me an elf." He straightened himself up and went straight back into his fighting stance. "I was ordered by my princess to destroy you."_

_Nightmare could not help but scoff. "You? You're just a child."_

_The knight could have sworn he saw the other's eye twitch. "I would hardly call an 18 year old a child."_

"_My apologies." It was obvious that the evil knight was being sarcastic. "Come then." He bellowed as he took up his own fighting stance. "You shall become part of me."_

_The boy barely had time to blink before he became bombarded with an onslaught of swift slashes. On instant a shield was brought up to his face and upper body before any of the attacks could make critical contact. At first it was a struggle to try to protect himself. The warrior in front of him had a crazy forceful set of skills that must have taken years to perfect. He had a rhythm all his own. A deadly serenade that could kill any man on the dance floor who was too slow to follow along._

_The blonde was determined not to be that poor sap on the dance floor. He knew I would be difficult. He had never danced to such an intense and frantic melody before. It would take some getting used to, and he didn't have much time to get it right. It was extremely hard to do, but the blonde knew it was possible. He knew how to memorize the rhythm of a fight. He knew how to dance along to a battles melody without missing a single beat. He had done it before, he could do it again._

_He began by focusing his gaze on Nightmares sword. The blade had an intense evil aura surrounding it. Every move it made, every attack it unleashed, could be seen with a keen eye. They could be heard with a careful pair of almost hyper sensitive ears. They could be sensed with keen and fine tuned spiritual intuition. The 18 year old was lucky enough to possess all of the keen senses mentioned above._

_He was not able to make a single hit, he was sad to say he was not so in tune with his senses, but he did manage to avoid any serious injury. His eyes were sharp enough to see oncoming attacks, and his body was quick enough to move out of the way before they made any kind of contact. On more than one occasion the dark knight attempted to forcefully grab hold of the young man, which forced the blonde to duck away from the threatening touch and roll out of the way. Nightmare was too slow to stop him._

_The boy knew he could not take on the knight evenly in close combat. He could no longer rely on his speed with his sword to get him by in this fight. Now the game had changed. It was no longer about beating his opponent down; it was about tiring him out. All he had to do was keep running circles around his opponent. It was not long before his efforts paid off._

"_Who are you?!" Nightmare panted out, leaning against his sword for support._

"_My name is Link." The boy said at last. "I'm known in my homeland as the Hero of Time. That sword of yours had caused a lot of trouble in my world and I'm here to destroy it."_

_Nightmare suddenly sensed something about the boy, and fixed his eyes on him with a heated glare. "You," He was standing up straight in an instant. "You carry a part of it, don't you?"_

_Link did not falter, but his hand did instantly cover a brown pouch on his leather belt. "You're pretty observant. I commend you."_

"_Give that back to me!"_

_Link shook his head. "You won't be getting this back ever again if I have anything to say about it."_

"_You cannot ever hope to control it. A child like you will only succumb to its evil in the end, no matter how strong headed you may be. Hand it over right now, and it will be less painful for you."_

_The elf's grip on his sword tightened. "I'm not afraid of getting hurt, and as long as I know who I am, this thing will never corrupt me!"_

_Link rushed forward, using both his hands to swing down his sword like a hammer. He realized a bit to late that he had been hasty when he assumed he had completely tired Nightmare out. The dark knight was able to block the attack with the sword Link had not seen move from the ground._

_It only took a second fro Link to sense that he was being pushed back. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to shove the monstrous sword away, but he knew it was hopeless. He was not strong enough. Escaping death was just as tiring as fighting it head on._

"_It's useless to resist child."_

_Link dared to lock gazes with the creature in front of him. What he saw made him gasp._

"_Stronger men have tried and failed."_

_Link could not help but stare. Those eyes were so warm and gentle, hey just drew him in. There was a sense of pride woven into the depths of endless shimmering blue skies. Such dignity and honor, only seen within the finest renowned well rounded soldiers, stood out against anything else Link could see. They seemed to call out to him, almost begged him to dive deeper and figure out the true and absolute nature of those rare sapphire eyes. It was then that Link realized,_

"_Those aren't his eyes." _

_Using whatever strength he had left in him, Link managed to push the dark knight away. It was only for a second and Nightmare didn't go any further than about an inch, but it was enough to allow the teenager to roll out of the way of a possible oncoming attack. Before Nightmare could even think of his next move, Link had risen up from his spot on the ground and tackled the dark knight into the dirt. Then he used his own blade, the Master Sword, to pin Nightmare down by his neck._

_He was disappointed to see dark tinted flames where light blue sapphires resided only a moment ago. His mind instantly told him he must have imagined it. The raw intensity of his fight must have forced his eyes to betray him._

"_Who are you?" But something in his gut told him that was not the case._

_Below him, Nightmare fought to free himself from Link's rather strong grasp. "What are you talking about?"_

_Link seemed to ignore him. "Those weren't his eyes. His are like dark fire, yours are like the sky." He was no longer talking to Nightmare. There was something else, something deep inside the dark one that he was trying to make contact with. "Who are you?"_

_Nightmare felt some kind of pang resonate throughput his body. He tried, more frantically, to shove Link off of him._

"_Those couldn't have been his eyes." Link tried his best to keep the fighter subdued. "They were to kind, too proud." He could feel his strength beginning to diminish. "Who are you?"_

_That question kept clutching onto to something inside him. It kept reaching out to the heart of something buried deep within his subconscious. Whatever it was it could hear everything that the elf was saying. It could understand the meaning of the words coming out of Link's mouth. It wanted to answer him._

"_Were you a soldier?" Nightmare could feel a pulse vibrating within him. "Maybe a knight of some kind?"_

_Nightmare let out a freakish battle cry before finally throwing Link clear across the battle field. _

_The poor elf landed flat on his back, with his right ankle twisted to a point of almost no repair. His shield had been thrown off in the opposite direction of where he had been thrown and was now sitting a good couple of hundred feet away from its owner. With his ankle in its current condition, he knew it was impossible to get up and run to it. Right now, it was impossible to get up at all. He looked to his right, and was relieved to see that his sword was only a few feet away from his current position. It was still quite a distance to travel, but not something he could not manage to get to by rolling._

_He cried out in pain when he felt something heavy focus all its weight on his bad ankle. Link bit his tongue and looked up to the towering form of the dark knight he had been sent to kill. Nightmare let out a dark chuckle as he lifted his sword up above his head. Link suddenly went back to a time when he had gotten trapped within the confides of a guillotine he had seen in a temple back in his homeland._

"_Any last words?"The sword had already begun to drop._

"_What's your name?"_

_Nightmare froze mid swing. _

"_I know you're not the monster in front of me." Link said, his voice almost begging, his sea blue eyes pleading. "You have a human heart, I'm sure of it." He tried to sit up. "No monster has eyes like those."_

_Nightmare tried to finish the boy off, tried to forcefully push his sword down upon the vulnerable child forced to stay on the ground. That boy kept reaching out to something that no normal human could see. That something wanted to break free, and the more the blonde boy coaxed the more determined it became. Nightmare had to shut this child up._

"_I can tell you're trapped. I know you want to get out. You don't want to hurt me. You don't want to hurt anybody."_

_The elf had a voice like silk, but it felt like rusted copper to Nightmares ears._

"_You are not a monster." Link repeated. "So tell me, who are you?"_

"_Si-"A voice that was not his own escaped Nightmare's lips. "Siegfried."_

_A bright silver glow caught the blonde's eye, and he turned to see his sword emanating the stunning silver light. Almost as if in a daze, he reached out his hand and nearly gasped when it flew right into his hand. From there, his body seemed to move on its own. Both his hands came to rest on the hilt of the Master Sword, while his good leg pushed him up into a standing position. Sea blue eyes met sky blue jewels once again, and Link thrust the sword into the dark knight's heart._

_Link had no idea what to expect, he could not even begin to guess what might happen next. This fight was nothing like he had ever experienced before. Every second was a new surprise. He wasn't expecting anything, but he was trying to be prepared for everything._

_But he was nowhere near ready for what happened next. Then again, no one was probably ever fully prepared for a body weighing over a hundred pounds to slam right into your own, especially when you weighed considerably less than it did. It was enough to knock the wind right out of the blonde el, who had not been expecting such a result. The strain was too much for his ankle, which had already gone beyond its limits by allowing Link to remain standing for even a moment, and he had landed right back on the ground with another body lying on top of him. _

_Link took in a breath, hooked an arm around the waste of the one on top of him, and as gently as he could, rolled around until the man was flat on the ground. Out of breath, and quickly tiring, Link sat up and spared a glance at the now semi conscious human trying to focus his gaze on something concrete. There was a scar on the right side of his face, going right down from this man's forehead not stopping until just above his chin. He had long blonde hair, a little darker than Link's, which went down to his waist, or at least his shoulder. With him lying down like that, it was hard for Link to tell._

_His eyes were slowly focusing on the teenager in front of him, almost looking as though he had opened his eyes for the first time. He opened his mouth, let out a shaky cough, and managed to say, "Why?"_

_Link smiled. That voice, those eyes, that bewildered stare, there were all human. His instinct hadn't failed him. There really had been someone trapped within Nightmare's body. _

"_YOU INSOLENT BRAT!"_

_Link could feel a cloud of strong murderous intent rise up from something behind him. It was so thick and foul, he almost didn't want to turn around. But his head began to turn, his eyes began to wander, and then his body began to shake._

_Nightmare had gotten up from Link's recent attack. He was slouching forward with a deep scowl on his face that reeked of his hatred toward the individual in front of him. The Master Sword was still lodged in his chest; Link could see the end of the blade protruding from the dark nights back. He was growling like some type of wild animal. A wild animal that had just set its eyes on its next meal. Its next vulnerable and weak bodied meal._

"_You took my servant."_

_Link glared at the wounded warrior, but did not say a word._

"_Do you think you can escape my wrath?"_

_Link shook his head with a glare on his face._

"_Smart child."_

"_Thank you." His voice was cold, almost calculating, and his eyes remained focused on his sword._

"_I'll ask you again. Any last words?"_

_Link held out his hand while his eyes remained fixed upon his opponents. "Return to me."_

_Nightmare coughed up a dirty red liquid, as the Master Sword forcefully withdrew itself from his body. Without pause or hesitation, the god like blade found its way back to the hand of the boy who had called it. He only had a split second to glare hatefully at the boy whose face was still fixed in a cold stare, before the world went black._

_Link waited for the body to hit the ground, before sheathing his sword and attempting to lift up the man who had escaped darkness. He had no idea how long the dark knight would be out. For all he knew he could wake up in two minutes, fully refreshed and ready to take on the world. Link could not handle that in his current condition. He was too tire, to emotionally worn out, and he had lost all feeling in his right leg. It was no doubt the result of his foolish abuse of his already injured ankle. He would not be able to protect himself, let alone the one he had freed from darkness._

"_What are you doing?"_

_Link took in a deep breath. He was suddenly very winded. "We need to get away from here."_

_Seeing the way the younger blonde struggled, the man, who Link remembered had called himself Siegfried, lifted Link up off the ground and allowed the elf to lean on his shoulder._

_Link blinked, looked bashfully up to the long haired blonde and smiled. "Thanks." His eyes suddenly darted around the battle worn area. "My shield." He said the moment his eyes landed on it. "I have to get my shield."_

_Siegfried slowly, so as to not harm the elf any further, walked over to the piece of weaponry Link had pointed to. He waited until Link had positioned the shield safely on his back before he spoke again. "How did you know I was in there?"_

_Link shrugged. "Instinct?"_

"_That's it?"_

_The elf chuckled. "That was all I needed." He looked back to the, thankfully, still unconscious form of Nightmare. "Now let's get out of here. I don't want to be around when that guy gets up."

* * *

_

He had never forgotten that day. It was the earliest memory he had of Link, and it was one of his fondest. That had been the first time he had heard that precious voice. The first time he had seen that precious smile. The first time he had been called human by someone who had never even heard of his existence.

"Siegfried."

He snapped out of his daze and focused his attention on Zelda, who was looking at him in puzzlement.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"How did you two meet?"

That was a very personal question. The story was not embarrassing and caused no unwanted memories to resurface, but it was private. It was one of the few moments that had been shared strictly between Link and himself. She had no right to know such a thing. "Mind your own business. It is none of your concern."

She glared at him. She was quickly becoming annoyed with his lack of respect.

"What you should focus on is getting a good night's sleep. You're going to need it. Tomorrow we need to find you a decent horse and get going. We have to time to waste." Yet, they had everything to lose.

"Where are we supposed to sleep?"

"I'll get us a couple of rooms here."

She gawked at him, a gesture very unbecoming of a princess. "You can't be serious. Do you see this place. Sleeping would be dangerous." She whispered harshly.

However Siegfried was unfazed. "Then you should sleep with one eye open."

She seemed to want to say something.

But he continued before she got the chance. "When I said I'd keep you alive, I didn't mean I'd baby sit you. You're a big girl now. You can take care of yourself."

She had nothing more to say.

* * *

MistressOfTime1218: Another twenty page long chapter. Sorry these take so long to update. But these chapters run on a 100% inspiration. I actually really like this story and try to take great care in writing. So they tend to be really long and take forever to see. I don't do that with any other story. So you guys can decide. Short chapters updated more often, or longer chapters over a longer period of time? And sorry if this chapter is really boring. It's mostly a filler to show whose going to be showing up and what their relationship with Link was. This makes it easier to see where most of the tension will come from. Please read and review!


	4. Found Him

MistressOfTime1218: Well hello there my dear readers.

StormBlitz: Oh my god. She's alive!

K-Chan: (Stops searching the immediate area) The Time Mistress lives!

StormBlitz: Where the heck have you been?

DarkMist: (Hangs up on police) I had the entire town searching for you!

StormBlitz: Would it have killed you to call?

MistressOfTime1218: Oh come on guys, stop exaggerating.

StormBlitz: We were worried sick.

MistressOfTime1218: Sorry to worry you guys. A lot of drama has been going on in my life. Honestly, when you're the victim of harassment by other students, you tend to keep to the shadows for a little while.

StormBlitz: A little while? You've basically been off the radar for months.

DarkMist: Before this goes any further, MistressOfTime1218 does not own anything in this story. Now what the hell happened?

MistressOfTime1218: Later girls, my readers want their story. And three chapters of their story they shall get. I promise if anyone asks, I'll explain. But for now…On with the story!

K-Chan: I really missed hearing that.

* * *

_Siegfried could not help but frown. His reflection stared back at him from the slightly dusty glass with distaste in its eyes. He did not like what he saw in the mirror, and he got the feeling that his reflection was not very fond of him either. _

"_Hey Siegfried," A blonde with pointed ears and a worried look in his eyes came to stand beside the knight. "Is something wrong?"_

_Siegfried did not reply at first. His eyes remained fixated on the image before him. The scar running down his face, the hair running slightly past his shoulders, it all seemed to belong to a different person. "My reflection."_

_Link leaned forward a bit, trying to get a better look at the mirror Siegfried seemed so preoccupied with. "Is there something wrong with it?"_

"_Not really." Yet the frown was still on his face._

"_Does something hurt?" _

_Siegfried turned to look at the elf, confusion written in his eyes. "No. Why do you ask?"_

"_You look like you're in pain."_

_The German sighed. He should have known by now that the young blonde would have been able to sense that something was wrong. After all, he had been able to sense that Siegfried was trapped within Nightmare. A feat that no one else, not even the holiest of warriors, had been able to do. Not to mention that by now, Siegfried wasn't even trying to hide it. "I guess it's just…I look too much like him."_

"_Who?"_

"_Him. That monster, Nightmare."_

_Link raised an eyebrow and focused all his attention on Siegfried's face. "You do?" He looked a little closer at the mirror, trying to see something even remotely similar to Nightmare. He found nothing. "I don't see it."_

_The other shook his head. "I guess you wouldn't. But all __**I**__ can see is that murderous monster I escaped from."_

_Now it was Links turn to frown. "You're not a monster. I told you that before."_

"_It's a little hard to believe that when you've been called nothing else for years."_

_Link tried to think of something to say, but even though he wanted to desperately cheer up the blonde in front of him, nothing would come out of his mouth. The knight beside him wanted to change what had happened in the past. He wanted to somehow take back everything that he had said, stop everything he felt he had allowed to happen, and return what his violent other half had stolen. An impossible dream, no matter how noble it seemed. Siegfried could not change the past and Link was forbidden to let him do so. He could not even to try to do it for him._

_Sometimes it was hard for the teenager. He had the power to change something, the power to fix every mistake in history, but he was forbidden to use it, even if someone begged him to do so. He was beginning to think that being a Hero of Time was more of a curse than a title. After all, what was the point of such a title if you could do nothing with the power that came with it? He couldn't help the starving individuals on the street. He could not give back time to the people who had not deserved to die. He was not even allowed to help ease the pain of a person who had been beaten, broken, and forced into submission by a blade beyond the reach of human hands._

_Link could do nothing to help the one tortured soul that had nothing to do with the torment that surrounded him. He felt completely and utterly useless. "You can't change the past."_

"_I know."_

"_But the present is still up for discussion."_

_Siegfried looked away from the mirror in favor at looking at a now smiling elf. "What?"_

"_Well, it's obvious you see something that reminds you of him. Let's change it so that you don't have to think about it anymore." He sounded so sure, so positive that something so simple could solve the problem. "What do you want to change?"_

"_Is everything an option?" His gaze went all over the mirror. "My eyes, my hair, my face, just everything."_

_Link chuckled. "Well, we can't do anything about your face unless you want to wear a mask all the time. But they tend to be extremely uncomfortable and can get a little hot after about five minutes."He knew that from experience. "We have no way of removing your eyes, but they don't look a thing like Nightmare's so they don't really need to go anywhere at all." He liked Siegfried's eyes anyway. It would be a shame to get rid of something so beautiful. "The only thing left is your hair, and that, that we can change."_

_Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"_

_Link did not answer. Instead he slowly made his way over to his small bed, trying his best not to limp or trip over his own two feet. _

_The small two person bedroom the two were currently staying in was going to act as their temporary home for the next few days, much to Link's utter dismay. The teenager had not liked the idea of stopping. He had been terrified that Nightmare would wake up, find out where they were, and try to take Siegfried back. He had been very adamant about moving on, but the knight had ordered him to slow down. He had told Link that he was not going to stand idly by and watch as the elf abused his injured body until it fell apart. Link had been given no other option. They had to stop. _

_Siegfried had also demanded that the elf take something for the pain in his leg, which left Link with half of one of his potions. His ankle had healed quite a bit since then, but it still took a bit of an effort to get anywhere. He did his best to hide his discomfort. He didn't like seeing his traveling companion worrying about something that was not his fault. No, Siegfried did not need to have anything else rest on his conscious. Especially not Link's injuries. After all, it was his own fault his ankle was in so much pain. He shouldn't have been pushing himself so hard._

_The blonde jumped on the bed, basking in the softness of the pure white comforters, before sitting down and gently placing his injured right leg over his left. He remained silent as he began to empty his belt pouches, looking over his inventory with a critical eye. After a few minutes, he picked up a small pocket knife and motioned for Siegfried to come closer to him._

_Surprisingly, Siegfried complied without any trace of fear or mistrust._

"_Sit facing me." Siegfried did as he was told._

_Link slowly brought the knife to the darker blondes head and swiftly began cutting off the long blonde locks that resided there. He started in the front, taking great care in measuring the pieces of yellow silk perfectly. His hands were gentle, never giving as much as a tug to the hair that had been put in their care. Link was forced to move around Siegfried several times, trying his best to make everything look as though it was natural using the only grooming tools he had with him. The pocket knife he was using to cut his companions hair and a comb he carried in one of his pouches. _

_Siegfried waited patiently, occasionally glancing at the fallen blonde locks that had been left on the floor. Link had a look of utter concentration on his face as he continued to cut and chop at the golden hairs. It was funny. He had that same look on his face when he had squared off against the terrifying Azure Knight. It was a look unlike anything Siegfried had ever seen on any warrior he had faced before. It seemed to almost warn his enemy of his oncoming victory, while at the same time seeming to wonder what to do next._

"_Almost done." _

_Tongue sticking out from the side of his mouth, Link attempted to make the now shortened dirty blonde hair rise up and stay in the air. He imagined he'd come up against some type of resistance, and was proven right when the hair he was trying to get to stand fell limply against the sides of Siegfried's head. He momentarily considered leaving the locks in their current state, but quickly dismissed the thought once he noticed how odd that would look._

"_Is your hair naturally straight?"_

_Siegfried had to think about it for a second. He hadn't had to worry about his hair in a long time, and up till now, he hadn't paid it any attention. "No. When I was a knight they used to take my hair and press it between two pieces of hot iron. It was the only way they could get it tame enough to put into a ponytail, otherwise it would stick out."_

_Link had thought so. The golden locks he had been cutting seemed to have been tampered with quite a lot in the past. "Why'd they want it down?"_

"_It was the usual protocol. It was either that or I cut it off completely, and I wasn't a fan of premature baldness." Hearing the gentle laughter of his companion, he let himself smile a little bit before continuing. "It was still that way when Nightmare took over my body."_

_Link once again reached into his handy dandy tool belt. What he pulled out this time was a small bottle of water._

"_How do you fit all of this stuff in that thing?"_

_Link tilted his head, silently asking the other what he meant._

"_I've seen you pull out everything but a kitchen sink from that belt. How on earth does it all fit in there?"_

_The elf let out a sweet smile. "It's bewitched. There's a spell on it that allows me to carry smaller versions of the items I use. When I need them I pull them out and they return to their regular size."He took off the worn leather glove on his left hand._

"_How much can you carry in there?"_

"_Quite a bit actually, clothes, weapons, bottles, food, you name it."He popped open the glass bottle he had taken out moments ago and gently trickled some onto his open palm._

"_So it's endless?"_

_Link shook his head, gentle smile still firmly in place. "Hardly. There's a limit to how much I can carry of each item I posses. But even with those limits, I still have a lot to work with." _

_The water in his hand was slowly dabbed onto the shortened golden locks. When keen blue eyes saw the hair begin to spike up, he dribbled some more onto his hand and repeated the process again. He was gentle with every move, careful with every decision he made. Siegfried found it funny that the boy would take something as simple as cutting hair so seriously._

"_What exactly are you trying to do?"_

"_You'll see." Despite the seriousness in his eyes, there's seemed to be merriment in his voice._

_Siegfried had no idea what to expect. His back had been turned towards the mirror, so he had no way of seeing what was being done. His only option was to wait for the finished product. Still, the knight had a childish desire to have a peek at what was being done to his hair. But whenever he tried to turn his head, even slightly, Link would gently turn it back to him._

"_Hold still," He would say, laughter threatening to fall out from his mouth._

"_But I want to see what it looks like."Siegfried had almost pouted, but at the last second he realized how childish that would look to the elf in front of him, and decided against it._

"_Patience is a virtue my good man. Besides, I'm not done yet."_

_So Siegfried had no choice but to wait. Link knew the other was getting impatient, so he decided against taking his own sweet time just for the sake of teasing the German._

"_All set."_

_Siegfried, who had lightly dosed off within the past several minutes, felt his companion grab his shoulders and slowly turn him around. His gaze came into contact with the mirror his back had been turned to, and his eyes became glued to the image inside of it. Hesitantly, he turned to Link, a question forming in his eyes while trying to make it to his lips. He couldn't say it out loud. But Link assured him it was all right, and that was all the encouragement the blonde knight needed. _

_Slowly, almost cautiously, he made his way over to the vanity mirror. He shut his eyes for a second, trying to emotionally prepare himself for what was to come, before deciding he was being stupid and finally managing to look into the glass. His eyes were instantly leveled with those of his reflection. He blinked a couple of times, trying to prove to himself that the image was actually really looking back at him from beyond the mirror, before understanding came to rest in his mind. It almost didn't seem real. _

_There was another person staring at him from beyond the glass. This man had short hair, which had been spiked up in different areas, making him look like a fighter from the streets. There was an air of confidence in the aura that surrounded him. There seemed to be a spark of determination that fueled what had to be a fighter's soul within him. There was also a smirk on his face, a challenge in his eyes that dared anyone to take a swing at him. This man was proud, strong, well rounded. He was a knight in every sense of the word, and yet, he was a fighter who had honed his skills in the dark underground of the city streets._

"_It looks like me."_

_Link chuckled. "It should. That is __**your**__ reflection."_

_Siegfried found himself playing with the small spikes on his head. He would have to get used to his hair being so short. "I look younger."_

_The elf nodded. "You do. Did you have short hair when you were a kid?"_

_The knight nodded. "I did, but I grew it out when I became a teenager. To tell you the truth I never really liked it very much."_

"_Then why did you keep it that way?"_

"_I don't know. I got used to it I suppose." He had gotten used to a lot of things in the past. Looking back on them now none of them had been very pleasant things to get accustomed to. Then again that had always been his lot in life._

_He was surprised when he saw Link pop up from beside him and place his head on his shoulder a second later. The boy had a tendency to move as silently as a butterfly in flight. Siegfried never knew where he was going to show up._

"_Think you can get used to this?"_

_Link's eyes remained on the image in the mirror, but Siegfried's gaze never left Link's soft gentle face. "I think I already have."_

* * *

The first thing to register in his mind was the fact that he was wet. He had not opened his eyes yet and could not confirm such a suspicion, but he could feel a cool liquid running over his face, soaking his neck and the bed sheets below him. The sun had started to sneak into his room through the open slits between the curtains; giving his closed eyes the message that light was filtering in around them.

The visions he had seen moments ago had been shoved out of reach, making Siegfried realize that they had never been there to begin with. He had been sleeping, and somehow, he had been woken up. Probably by the water, or what he assumed to be water, running over his body.

Link would not be there when he opened his eyes. The elf would not be safe and sound in a room the two had decided to stay in for the knight. He would not have breakfast ready and waiting for his friend. And he would not be waiting to greet Siegfried, who had overslept again, with a smile and a cheerful good morning, or afternoon as the case often was. No, Link could not have been there to do any of that. He was back in Hyrule, trapped in a castle, being tortured by the very personification of a demonic blade. Siegfried had been dreaming, and apparently, he had been forcefully brought back into the real world. The real, as of right now, Linkless world.

Needless to say, he was not a happy person.

"Whoever just woke me up better be at least twenty feet away from this bed." He growled out. "I will not be held responsible for any lost limbs, decapitated corpses, or loss of life."

There was a shadow hovering above him. He caught the familiar scent of a lavender type lotion wavering over his nose. His memory vaguely told him that it was the same kind of body lotion Link used to use when he showered.

"You must get up Siegfried." A female voice called out to him. "The sun's already begun to rise."

It seemed that Zelda was trying to get him out of bed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm waking you up. We have to get going."

"Do you not remember what happened the last time you tried to wake me up?"

He did his best to ignore the voice in his head telling him to roughly throw the princess out of the window. That was her plan after all. Get him angry enough to want to attack, and then gently remind him that he needed her. If she just kept reminding him of that little fact it would almost be like telling him that she was in control. It would not do to have her in that state of mind. If she started acting like she could order him around then someone was bound to get hurt, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him.

"Yes, and I was quite surprised that you seemed to be a bit tamer this morning. It looks like you **are** somewhat housebroken."

He bit his tongue, trying to convince himself that she had **not** just suggested that he was some type of animal.  
"What time is it?"

"My guess would be a little after six."

He felt like strangling her. "Why the hell did you get me up this early?"

He could just picture the look of pure false innocence she was giving him. "Last night you mentioned we had to be quick and efficient in finding these friends of yours. I decided that getting up early would be a good way to start."

Siegfried managed to forcefully sit himself up, not missing the tiny droplets of water that fell from his face as he did so. He allowed his eyes to open slowly, trying his best to adjust to the incoming sunlight at a slightly more comfortable pace. He had never been a morning person, and anyone who had ever tried to get him out of bed any earlier than noon found themselves dealing with very painful bodily injuries. She was lucky he had learned how to control his foul morning moods during his travels with Link.

"Since when do you ever listen to me?"

"Since you promised to do anything to help rescue our hero from that dreaded sword."

He roughly rubbed away at his eyes with the back of his fisted hand. "You do realize that you interrupted an extremely rare pleasant dream, don't you?" He doubted she would even care, but the opportunity to make her feel even an ounce of guilt was too good to pass up.

She shrugged. "It couldn't have been all that good of a dream if you were so quick to wake up."

Siegfried had never been fond of royalty.

They always had everything in life. With a flick of their wrist or a whine to their parents they had the world on a string. They had friends who adored the ground they walked on. They had family who were the highlight of every worthwhile society. They had homes the likes of which could never be recreated even with the most brilliant artists and architects at hand. What's more, they had the means to protect everything they held dear.

Zelda didn't understand how lucky she was. She had guards, soldiers, armies, ready and waiting to protect the things most precious to her. She had people standing watch, making sure that nothing that had any ounce of value to her could be taken. Even if anything was stolen from her, be it by a bandit or some type of traitor, someone like Link was always there to give back what she shouldn't have let go of in the first place.

Commoners, like him, had no say in whether they lost something or not. People like him never had much to begin with, so what they did manage to posses was special to them. It was rarely anything concrete, like a house or a priceless heirloom. More often than not it was the symbolic things in life. Things like love, friendship, or a good dream every once in a blue moon, things that truly made an impact on someone's life.

Unfortunately, the lower classes did not have the luxury of knowing that the things they loved would be protected. They had to fight constantly to keep the things they loved by their side, and sometimes they had to lose. Sometimes they had their loved ones taken away from them, silently kidnapped in the dead of the night. Sometimes sick individuals went on a killing spree with no regard to who they slaughtered, and sometimes a plague infested the world it had been born into. Peasants had no money. They could not afford guards protect their friends and family, nor could they pay a doctor to cure someone precious to them. In the end, fate decided who got to keep the treasures they had found in life. People on the bottom of the food chain had no right to interfere.

People like Link lost their freedom before they even got a chance to taste it. People like Siegfried lost the only true friend they ever had in life. People like Zelda lost absolutely nothing. She would never be able to understand the harsh ways of life, no matter how many times she tangoed with the harsh reality of the world. So she would never be able to understand how truly precious that one dream was to Siegfried, and she would never be able to understand how cruel it was to assume that it was worthless just because he woke up from it.

"Figures," He muttered under his breath. "Of course you wouldn't understand."

He moved around the room quickly, gathering his belongings without bothering to make eye contact with the princess that stood near his bed. He could not stand to look at her. Doing so could only cause him to lash out and do something he would later regret. He may not have liked her, but he needed her alive, if only for the moment.

"You know," She said after a moment of silence. "For some reason, I had pictured you differently."

A part of Siegfried was disgusted, he did not like the idea that she had been given the opportunity to think about him at all, but another part of him was somewhat glad. The only way she could have been given that opportunity was because Link had talked about him before. "Oh?"

"Believe it or not," She fiddled with a sting of her hair. "I would have thought your hair was longer, and not so," She paused. "Street like."

He could not help but smirk. What she meant to say was that she had pictured him as the classic cliché hero of old legends. A bulky, handsome, bright eyed wonder that had long flowing gold hair that was as straight as silk.

"You have Link to thank for the way I look today." He strapped on the leather belt that completed his outfit.

"Really?"

There were still a few droplets of water left atop his head from his rude morning awakening. Seeing no other water available to him, he loosely ran his hand through his wet hair before deciding to just leave it the way it was. He reminded himself to thank the elf the next time he saw him. This particular hairstyle was a lot easier to manage than his long hair had been, and every time he saw it, it reminded him of yet another time Link had cleared away some of the guilt in his heart. "I used to look like the person you imagined. Link cut my hair when we first met."

"An encounter you have yet to tell me about."

"I don't ever intend to."

* * *

"Come one Epona." Siegfried held fast to the thick leather reins of Epona's saddle. It took all he had not to let go and simply let the horse do as she wanted, which at the moment was bucking the cloaked princess off of her back, into a nearby water bin, and running off without bothering to look back.

"I told you she would behave this way." Zelda was clearly embarrassed with the situation at hand.

Siegfried could not bring himself to blame her at that moment. A small group of people had started to gather around them, anxious to see two people making complete fools out of themselves. Some chuckled, some tried to hide their giggling fits, while others tossed manners aside and chose to laugh out loud. It was enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Siegfried included.

"Epona," He tried gently. "You're not making this very easy for me." He felt like an idiot. An idiot negotiating with a horse. An idiot negotiating with a horse, and losing. "I'll give you a carrot."

She looked at him as though he were the stupidest thing she had ever seen, which was exactly what he felt like at that moment, and continued to struggle against his grip.

Siegfried had never had this much trouble with Epona before. In the past, Link had been there to show him how to handle her when she was in a bad mood. If it ever did come down to a point where it was impossible for him to console her, the knight just handed the reins over to Link. He knew how to soothe even the worst of tempers when it came to his horse. Looking back on it now, Siegfried was sorry he hadn't taken any notes.

"Oh I give up!" Siegfried let go of the reins he had tried so hard to keep a grip on and turned his back on the whole scene.

He was expecting the shocked squeals of the girl behind him, and he knew the eventual splash and fits of loud laughter was inevitable. He was also prepared for the eventual wet hand that forcefully put him face to face with a very wet and very angry princess.

"Why did you let her do that?" Zelda was trying to remain calm, but even Navi, who was hidden in a pouch on Epona's saddle, could hear the clear murderous intent in her voice.

Siegfried would admit, even though he was embarrassed beyond belief, he still got a kick out of seeing the princess in such a ridiculous state. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh I don't know," She muttered sarcastically. "Restrain her maybe?"

How he managed to shrug so casually in this situation was beyond him. "Consider it payback for this morning."

"Do you know how embarrassing this is? I'm utterly humiliated."

Something about that declaration just seemed to tick Siegfried off. It could have been that he was still tired from his all too rushed and far too wet wakeup call early that morning. Or it could have been the fact that he had just lost a battle of wills with a horse. Whatever the reason, Siegfried had already been angry enough to begin with. Zelda had just managed to put the icing on the cake.

"You think I'm not?" He growled out. "You have some nerve you know that? **First**, you get Link caught up into another one of your pathetic damsel in distress routines, which you should have learned to handle by now, and wind up getting him in the worst possible situation anyone could ever imagine.** Next**, you just waltz right into my territory, waving your stupid high class status around, expecting me to act like one of your spineless little subordinates. **Then**, you get yourself into an argument with a horse, lose, and to top it all off-- DO YOU PEOPLE NEED SOMETHING?!"

The small group that had gathered around them disbanded immediately.

Seeing that he no longer had an audience, Siegfried took the time to slowly take in a breath of fresh air to cool his nerve. It didn't help all that much, but he was able to speak without sounding all that irritated. "Not to mention that you practically dragged me out of bed at some ungodly hour in the morning and couldn't even bother to figure out how to convince Epona to let you ride her."

"I was a bit more occupied with waking you up."

"Well next time, let me wake up on my own." He pulled at a couple of spikes of his hair. "It might just save us the humiliation of repeating this little episode again."

* * *

"This is exhausting."

Siegfried ignored the childish whine and bent down on the ground near a shrub filled with purple flowers. "I'm not exactly happy about this either." He gently plucked a flower up from the ground, making sure to take the roots out of the loosened soil after the plant had been removed, and placed them both in a brown sack he held in his right hand. "But you heard what that healer said. Get him the herbs, he gives us a horse."

Zelda did not like that healer, and she could not have been any less happy than she already was about the current deal the knight had set in place. For one thing, the herbs the old man wanted were somewhat familiar to the princess. She could not say with upmost confidence that she **knew** what all of them were, but she had managed to recognize the names of a few. Most of the plants she remembered could be used in poisons, faulty medical drugs, and things fairly similar in nature. She had been able to use quite a few of them when she had disguised herself as Shiek in her last lifetime. She wasn't quite sure if Siegfried knew, or even cared, what the plants were being used for, but **she** was uncomfortable with gathering suspicious items for an old man she wasn't entirely keen on trusting. She was also a bit- quite a lot actually- angry that he had agreed to leave Epona with the old man until they returned. As a result, she refused to help him look for anything the two of them had been asked to retrieve.

Thus, the two were forced into a deep and almost eerie silence. It only helped to fuel the profound dislike, for it could not be called hate just yet, Siegfried had for the princess.

Truth be told, Siegfried hated the silence that had managed to completely overcome them. He had no desire to hear the princess behind him speak, make no mistake about that, but he did wish that she would at least make **some** type of noise. A hum, a huff, a sigh, something, **anything**, to make it so the area around them wouldn't be so damn quiet.

He remembered a time when he had welcomed the cold atmosphere absolute silence brought along with it. Back when he had been possessed, forced to relinquish his body and its senses to the demonic Nightmare, silence had been a blessing in disguise. He had been spared the agony of hearing the screams of innocent people being slaughtered by Soul Edge. He had been spared the pain of listening to the tortured souls waiting for death to come and put them out of their misery.

Since Siegfried had been unable to experience such painful noises he had almost been able to pretend that they didn't exist. He had almost been able to pretend that the cold and bitter silence was a path of redemption for a past sin that he was being forced to atone for right then and there. He had almost been able to pretend that it was all some type of bad dream that he was destined to wake up from any second. Even if such things were lies, constructed for the sole purpose of making him feel better, with no one else around to tell him otherwise, he had almost been able to fool himself into believing it was all true.

But Link had never liked the discomfort and loneliness silence brought with it. Admittedly the elf was not a talkative person. He was an awfully timid creature in this world and Siegfried had seen firsthand how shy the teenager could be. In a crowd he was inaudible, on the road he was fairly quiet, but he would never be dead silent if he could help it. He had a deep mistrust for any type of silence that confronted him. He did anything he could to avoid it. He would sing, he would hum, he would talk, or he would play his ocarina. Anything to avoid the stillness that being quiet brought upon the world.

It had bothered Siegfried at first. He had gotten so used to silence that even the smallest of noises made by the quietest of creatures managed to irritate him. He had wanted to keep the area around him as peaceful as the emptiness in someone's mind, but the implication of such a thing seemed to terrify the younger blonde traveling with him. So for his sake, Siegfried had tolerated the many sounds the world had to offer. He would talk to the teenager if it ever got too quiet, sing along to the tunes the elf sang to, even if he didn't know the words, or tap his feet to the beat Link played on his ocarina. At first he had done it out of obligation, simply because Link had done so much for him.

Soon, however, the gestures of sound became more than a favor to his companion. They became routine, and he found himself desiring the small noises and clamors daily life brought with it. He had gotten too used to them. He wanted them around, needed them even. He never did manage to outgrow the desire for sound even after Link had left.

"Did you hear that?"

Siegfried, who was momentarily taken out of his musings by the sound of his traveling companion's voice, turned around to look at the princess. "Hear what?"

She looked left, and then she turned right. Siegfried was reminded of an animal out in the wild waiting for a hunters attack. "Those noises in the distance. It sounds like clashing metal."

The German could hear nothing, but he had forgotten how sensitive a Hylian's ears were. "Probably some kind of fight." He began walking off in another direction. "Best to stay away from it." He had no time to interfere in other people's business.

He had expected her to follow him, but after a few minute of hearing nothing but his own footsteps, he realized he was walking alone. "Are you coming?"

She kept her focus on something in the distance, something he could not see. "Last night you mentioned a man's name. What was it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I mentioned quite a few. Could you be more specific?"

"Father," She said after a moment. "You used that word when you described him."

One name instantly rang out in the German's mind. "Mitsurugi?"

"That's the one!"

Siegfried was at her side in the blink of an eye. "Where is he? Is he in that fight?" He could hardly believe his luck.

"I think so." She closed her eyes and tried to pinpoint the location of the voices she was now certain she was hearing. "I can't hear everything being said, but that name keeps popping up."

He was almost reluctant to believe that this could be happening. When he had mentioned Mitsurugi the night before he had assumed that the samurai had returned to Japan after Links departure. The knight had been almost certain that he would have had to spend weeks tracking down the older man in a foreign country. To find him here, in Germany of all places, possibly only a short running distance away, was just too good to be true.

"Where is he?" She pointed off to a spot in the distance. "Lead the way."

* * *

Siegfried felt like jumping up for joy. It was him. It was really him. "You will only ever hear me say this once," He said to the princess beside him. "So savor the moment. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Zelda knew this would undoubtedly be the first and last time the two of them would ever act civilly towards each other.

Siegfried was rooted to that spot beyond the eye line of the samurai he so desperately needed to speak with. Mitsurugi had always had that kind of effect on him.

As a knight Siegfried had been brought up to know when proper respect was due. He knew how to recognize those who needed it, those who craved it, and those who deserved it.

The Japanese swordsman never asked for it, but his presence just seemed to demand it. Siegfried had seen firsthand what disrespect would do to those foolish enough to mock the samurai. He had witnessed what it was that made the man so powerful, so true to his infamous reputation. His words, his demeanor, and the skill he possessed when his sword was in his hand. They were all top notch and worthy of the respect he demanded.

But that was not the reason his feet refused to move.

Currently, the man the German needed to see was surrounded. Dozens of knights walked around him in a fairly threatening circle. They were young, cocky, mischievous little creations who probably thought they could away with fighting so underhandedly. After all they outnumbered the man before them. They could always cover up for one another if anything got out of hand, or if questions ever arose about what had transpired that day. It would be their word against his. Anyway you looked at it the odds were against the lone Samurai. And yet, Siegfried knew…

"Those guys don't stand a chance."


	5. Chapter 5

Siegfried had heard tales of the infamous Heishiro Mitsurugi when he had been imprisoned within Nightmare. The Samurai was known for taking down armies upon armies of experienced fighters without so much as batting as eyelash. He did not take kindly to mercy and not one of his opponents was ever given such a greatly desired luxury. He went all out, regardless of who was across from him in a fight or how weak his opponents must have been. Sometimes that brand of fighting would lead to a dead body.

The knight and young elf had been given the rare opportunity to meet the samurai with a vicious reputation during their travels. Given what he knew about the older man, Siegfried was reluctant to let him get anywhere within two feet of Link. The teenager could undoubtedly take care of himself. He did not need to be treated like a child. But still, the young blonde was too trusting. He was still optimistic about the world and he still possessed that childlike innocence newborns had no choice but to posses.

If the two of them were to stay even within walking distance of the Japanese fighter, they were more than likely to see more than their fair share of death and despair. Those were matters in life that still upset Link. He did not like death. He did not like seeing young warriors cut down in their prime. It didn't scare him per say, but it did manage to kill a bit of his soul every time he saw it happen.

Against his better judgment, Siegfried had allowed the samurai to tag along with them for a little while. He had anticipated regretting that decision not to far down the road, but Mitsurugi had surprised him. They had encountered dozens of enemies during that leg of the journey. Some of the fights were easy going. Some were cutthroat bloodbaths. Siegfried had done his best to shelter Link from most of the destruction, and surprisingly so had Mitsurugi. It appeared that he had quickly gotten into the habit of keeping his 'victims' alive whenever Link was likely anywhere near the premises.

Whether or not the Samurai had chosen to keep that habit was up for debate. However, even if he did not, it was obvious that he still never went easy on any of his opponents.

From this distance the knight was unable to determine just how much damage the men were taking. Almost all them, actually all but one at this point, had been knocked down to the floor. They were motionless, but whether that was unconsciousness or…something else was something he could not decipher at the moment. But either way the men must have certainly been in unbearable pain before they went down. He would not be surprised if some of them stayed on the ground to avoid being hit again. If any of them were still conscious that is.

Siegfried momentarily forgot he was in a rush, and had no time to waste thinking about the past. Once he realized that that was exactly what he was doing he rid his mind of any unneeded thoughts and attempted to run over to the swordsman. However, he was surprised when a delicate hand gripped rather tightly onto his arm.

He turned his head to glance at Zelda, who he now realized was holding him back. "What do you think you're doing?" Maybe he had been unclear when he told her that the unusual civility between them had been a onetime event.

"Is it wise to interrupt?"

Now that he thought about it, no. No it most certainly was not. Mitsurugi was bound to chop off Siegfried's arm in retaliation to such a thoughtless interruption. And that was if he was in a **good** mood. "I have no time to wait."

Still, the princess kept her hands clasped tightly around the knight's arm. "You're going to get yourself killed."

He almost burst out laughing. How many times had he told Link that same thing? How many times had he tried to dissuade the teenager from doing something as stupid as what he was trying to do right now? How many times had he felt the elf struggle against his grip? And how many times had he heard that bright eyed boy say the exact same thing?

"Don't worry," Siegfried repeated form memory. "Destiny's got too much in store for me. She won't kill me just yet."

Several strings tugged at the princess fragile heart. She, too, could remember those words. Those somehow sweet words tied together with a smile that whispered a promise of a safe return. For a split second, perhaps less than that, it was not Siegfried trying to rush off into danger. It was Link. Zelda knew that the image before her was not real and she knew that it would leave as quickly as it appeared. But her heart refused to listen to her head, and she found herself unable to stop her memories from rushing into the forefront of her mind all at once. And in that one vulnerable moment she let go of the knight's arm.

Siegfried took advantage of the opportunity, and made a dash for the battle ridden samurai.

He had expected to have to have to dodge furious batches of vicious sword strikes-he was eager, not stupid-and he had mentally told himself to prepare for the inevitable onslaught. But after he had gotten about seven feet away from where he started, he heard an angry voice call,

"Stay out of this Schtauffen!"

Siegfried, once again, became rooted to the spot he was standing on. He could not deny that that voice was utterly intimidating. Two years ago it had been enough to freeze Hell over about a dozen times over with one word. Even now, years after he had gotten used to it, it was still enough to stop the German dead in his tracks so quickly it was almost enough to make him topple over. He knew all too well, after all, that upsetting Heishiro Mitsurugi meant almost certain death.

Still, even though he was partially scared out of his mind (Like hell he would ever admit that), he knew that time was crucial at this point. He could not afford to waste another second. "I hate to interrupt, but we need to talk."

"Two years and now you need to have a talk." He blocked an oncoming attack with the hilt of his blade. "I don't feel like talking."

Siegfried knew that he had done it now. It was his own fault, really, that the samurai seemed upset with him. After all, after Link had left Siegfried had up and disappeared. He had simply woken up early one morning, something extremely taboo for his normal nature, and left without saying a word. He had then cut all ties with his past teammates and wandered around his country like a shadow. Apparently some still held a grudge over is impromptu disappearance.

"Look, I know I screwed up back then. I should have told you that I was leaving."

"You think?" Mitsurugi said in just about the most demeaning voice he could muster. "You are the most selfish bastard I've ever met. Did you think you were the only one who would miss him? Or did you just not care about how much pain the rest of us were in?"

That wasn't it. "Okay, I deserve that."

The samurai stepped to the side to avoid another strike. "No kidding."

"But I didn't come here to talk about me."

"Then whatever it is, it can wait."

Siegfried growled in frustration as Mitsurugi turned his attention back to the fight. The Japanese man could have ended this bout long ago. Now he was just stalling for time to tick the German off. "It' not about me, but it's really important. It concerns someone you know fairly well."

"I know a lot of people."

"This one you actually care about."

The other scoffed. "Who is it?"

"It's…" Siegfried was still hesitant about saying Link's name out loud. Call him paranoid, fine. But he had no intention of shouting the elf's name when there was still a chance that someone was hiding deep within the shadows. "Someone I can't talk about right now in a situation I can't explain until later."

Had Mitsurugi been a bit less preoccupied, he probably would have laughed. "Sounds serious."

"I'm telling you we have a problem."

"No, you have a problem."

Now the knight was starting to get impatient. He had forgotten just how stubborn this man could be. "Mitsurugi,"

The samurai refused to acknowledge him.

"Mitsurugi!"

He received no indication that he had been heard.

"Mitsurugi!" When he got no answer the third time, Siegfried could not help but blurt out, "Link's in trouble and he needs our help!"

That declaration had not come out the way he had intended. Not at all. In fact Siegfried had anticipated breaking the news rather gently, preferably when the two of them were away from open spaces.

But now, that was very much an impossibility, and he was pretty sure that the entire forest had just heard him.

But on the bright side his accidental outburst had gotten Mitsurugi's attention. The samurai was quick to end his fight with a massive whack to his opponent's collar bone, an act that left the poor guy sprawled out on the floor. After which Mitsurugi quickly walked over to the young German. There was a scowl on his face, and clear concrete panic in his eyes.

"What do you mean he's in trouble?"

"Just what I said. I can't go into detail right now, but believe me when I say this is a matter of life or death. _**His **_life and _**his**_possible death."

"How do you know? Who told you this?"

There was no way the man was going to move an inch until he got some answers. He had always had the stubbornness of an enraged bull, and nothing was ever likely to break that iron will. Still, the knight was not comfortable speaking about such a delicate subject out loud. He had only blurted out the first part of the situation by accident. There was no way he could convince himself to do such a thing on purpose. He figured the Japanese fighter would just have to settle for a small token of proof. At least until they were out of earshot.

Siegfried turned to Zelda and beckoned her forward. She hesitated, sensing the obvious hostility in the air surrounding Mitsurugi. She almost looked afraid of him. She had every right to be. He was a very frightening man when he wanted to be.

Siegfried called to her again, trying to assure her, without words, that there was nothing to be afraid of right at that moment. She was still suspicious, but walked over to Siegfried's side anyway, and waited for his instructions.

"Pull down the hood."

She quickly locked eyes with him. Siegfried could see the doubt beginning to cloud over light blue irises.

But he could have none of that. Not now. "Its fine, we can trust him."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Just forget what he said."

The other eyebrow was raised.

"Listen," The knight growled. "You can take it off yourself, or I can rip it off by force."

Her intuition told her not to trust the samurai. Maybe it was because she had been warned of him beforehand. Or maybe it was because she had seen precisely what the man was capable of. Either way, her head was telling her to turn and run. But her common sense told her she had no choice.

It was an awful feeling really, being between the proverbial rock and hard place. As a princess she was used to always having some sort of backup plan. Her line of work, as well as her people, required careful planning in order to be led to success. She could not afford to have just one plan, nor one way of thinking. If one were to fail she, as well as her country, would be taken down by its enemies before Hyrule even got the chance to think of getting back up on her feet.

Had she been an ordinary girl she would be used to dealing with situations she could not have control over.

But she was not just an ordinary girl. She was a princess, and because of that, she had the resources to formulate multiple plans and move into another phase of things if something were to ever go wrong. She liked control; it meant she had a way out of something potentially dangerous.

But she was not in control here. They were. So despite what she may have thought about the men standing before her, she lowered the dark brown hood of her cloak.

Mitsurugi looked on in a sort of morbid interest as the young lady's head was finally uncovered. Golden hair, silky blue yes, and most importantly, pointed ears. His face remained steady, but his eyes had started to shake. It was a subtle movement, something that Siegfried had almost failed to catch, almost. "Is she?"

Siegfried nodded. "Zelda, the princess who had ordered Link to journey here two years ago."

"And where is Link?"

Siegfried was silent. His eyes fell to the floor while his fists tightened inside leather gloves. He could not bring himself to speak. He could not stand to lock eyes with the older samurai. His eyes, his face, would give away the truth that was too painful to whisper out loud.

Mitsurugi was quick to understand what that horrid silence met. "You're not joking are you? You're completely serious."

The German nodded.

"What happened?"

Siegfried could not bring himself to open his mouth. The words that were in his head refused to reach his lips. They stayed in his mouth, bitter copper tinting his taste buds, torturing his throat with facts that could not be said. "I can't tell you." He saw the other about to argue. "Just not here," He said almost desperately. "Not now. Please."

Mitsurugi forced his teeth to clamp over his tongue. The sound of the younger man's voice spoke volumes for how grave the situation was, even though an explanation had yet to be announced. If Siegfried sounded that miserable, that heartbroken, then this was most certainly not the time for an argument.

"Very well then, let's go somewhere a little less out in the open."

* * *

"Here,"

The blonde handed the bag over to an elderly man sitting Indian style in front of a gallant mansion.

The home he sat in front of was rather rustic in design with vines flowing down like water from the higher bricks of the building. There had been no attempts at trimming the vines that sat atop the roof, nor had there been any attempts to cut the overflowing grass along the property of the building. Some of the bricks had begun to crumble and it was likely that the basic foundation was the only thing that was relatively new about the place. It almost seemed as though it had not been used in a few good decades.

But if one were to glance inside the dusty windows, behind the satin curtains, they would see brand new furniture being moved into different areas of the home. They would see, if they were to look a bit closer, new carpets being cleaned while shimmering artifacts are moved out of the way to avoid damage. The house was certainly old on the outside, but it was everything but decayed on the inside.

The old man smiled thankfully, and took the bag from the knight's hand with great care. "My sincerest gratitude young man."

The German waved it off. "Where's my horse?"

"In the stable with the other ones. You don't have to worry about her well being. She has been well taken care of."

"And our deal?"

"You can take your pick of one of the stallions in the morning."

Siegfried took notice of the sun in the sky. It was still out and about, as cheerful as it ever was, but it was still beginning it's decent onto the horizon. Since it was summer it had been given more time to enjoy splashing its light on the people below. The extra hours had been, expectantly, fun for the bright shining orb, but now it had exhausted its welcome. The moon would soon be rising, giving a splendid introduction to the darkness overcoming the world. It occurred to the knight that they had no place to stay.

"Would it be too much," He said politely. "To ask for a place to spend the night? We won't need that much space. A room with three beds and a decent bathroom will suffice."

"If you must." The old man said casually. "But I wouldn't recommend taking anything." He gleefully held up the bag in his hands. "This was supposed to be used for rat poisoning, but I can easily turn it into something else."

Siegfried smirked in spite of himself. He liked the old man's spirit. "I'll keep that in mind."

From beside him he could hear Mitsurugi chuckle. It was a soft quiet little noise, but after hearing nothing but the wind for hours on end Siegfried's ears were sharp enough to hear it. Even Zelda managed a dainty little laugh at the old man's obvious attempt at a threat. The threat was not particularly funny in itself, but the old man's rather cryptic joke was just enough to lighten the tension that had surrounded the three unlikely traveling companions.

The three were soon ushered into the mansion without any sign of trouble. Servants old and new welcomed them warmly offering anything that their hearts might have desired.

The first thing the three asked for was a decent meal. Siegfried had grown tired of the too often stale food recent inns had offered him -it was partially his fault, seeing that he had picked the worst looking places he could find just so he could torture the princess with him- and Zelda visibly brightened at the thought of eating food she was accustomed too. Mitsurugi had not cared one way or the other. He was hungry and therefore glad to receive any type of food they had.

During dinner Siegfried asked for quite a few bottles of heavy alcohol to be delivered, an act that did not go unnoticed by the Japanese samurai. It was rather suspicious behavior for the German. Especially since none of these bottles managed to appear on the table. Mitsurugi had wanted to ask why, but the question he wanted to ask died on his lips when he saw the German attempt a somewhat truthful smile while trying to come up with a topic to speak about.

Then they were all invited to take a bath. Each had a separate room to bathe in, a quiet space to just let loose and relax. Once again Zelda was thrilled. Mitsurugi was once again content with just getting clean. Siegfried however, was rather uncomfortable and downright embarrassed with the situation. He had never had people waiting on him hand and foot, and he never really had the option of someone catering to his every whim. He had always done things for himself and had always been alright in doing so. Having other people do things for him was not something he was used too, or enjoyed very much.

He tried to get the servants in the lavished household to understand that. He could run his own bath water and he knew what types of lotions and shampoos to use while he was in there. He could get his own towels if they just pointed him in the right direction and damn it he knew how to undress himself! Siegfried was perfectly fine serving himself and did not want any of the servants in that house doing what he could do himself. Especially when it came to him dressing or undressing.

He was not cruel about the matter. He told them as clearly and politely as he could, but they seemed just as uncomfortable about _not_ serving him as he felt about them serving him in the first place. He considered not taking the stupid bath at all at one point, but when he was reminded of the last time he bathed properly, he simply chose to grin and bear the constant attention total strangers wanted to smother him with.

With that part of the evening safely tucked away, and ready to be forgotten in the German's subconscious, the three were taken to their rooms. The bedrooms were all set up in a neat little line with a washroom set directly across the hall. That was a relief. The obvious attempt at keeping them together meant that their host wanted to avoid separating them. Though more for his good than theirs, it meant the old man was not willing to make a move unless they did so first.

Zelda was the first to stroll into her room. She was obviously tired, both from the stress of the day and Siegfried's relentless attitude. Mitsurugi was prepared to follow her example, but he was fully aware, even in this tired state of mind, that Siegfried still owed him an explanation. So he waited until the princess closed her door and silently followed Siegfried when the German began walking in some unknown direction.

"I hope you know where you're going." The samurai remarked casually, hoping to get some type of conversation going.

But Siegfried seemed less than eager to talk. "A servant showed me the way." He said after a moment. "I know where I'm going."

There was something very wrong with that tone of voice. It seemed hollow, yet somehow filled with dread about something forthcoming. The young knight was afraid, or at the very least highly upset, about the talk the two were about to have.

He had noticed it earlier when Siegfried had been so adamant about not speaking in public. About 10% of that hesitation was thanks to paranoia, the overly frightened thinking that some unsavory character was watching your every move at every moment. But the other 90% of that hesitation was pain. A cruel, thoughtless, pain that refused to let the blonde speak a word of what was so desperate to leave his tongue. Such a realization made Mitsurugi almost hesitate to hear the story. He wondered if it was not better to be left in the dark than see what kind of mess Link had gotten into.

"We're here."

The samurai looked up passively, showing no sign of discomfort or concern. There would be no need for those kinds of emotions at this point. They could only make Siegfried hesitate, and apparently they needed no such distraction. The knight had said so himself. Time was of the essence.

He silently followed Siegfried into what appeared to be a private library that had been built into the estate. In the center of the room was a small table with two chairs on opposite sides. On this table was a generous amount of alcohol with two semi large wine glasses placed against each other.

'That must have been what he had asked for at dinner.'

Well, at least he wasn't planning on drinking by himself. That meant he wasn't too deep in depression. That was a somewhat good sign. But did he really need **all** of those bottles? As far as Mitsurugi knew the boy had never been much of a drinker. He'd never be able to hold that much liquor.

Still, he said nothing as the two of them seated themselves and Siegfried began to pour himself drink after drink after drink. It was a bit unsettling to see him swallow glass after glass without even stopping to breathe. He did not even bother to offer his companion a cup. His entire focus appeared to be on finishing every bottle in the place in one sitting. The Samurai thought of suggesting some sort of break, but then Siegfried started talking.

The words were stiff at first. They were rigid and difficult to remove from the young man's throat, and if Mitsurugi was not mistaken they seemed almost painful. The knight seemed close to tears at certain points, and then he drowned himself in another glass of wine whose bottle was quickly becoming empty.

Mitsurugi soon figured out why the blonde felt the need to drink so heavily. Since he had never been a drinker, the effects of alcohol were still very potent to him. He could drink and allow the tempting poison to overtake him. At this point it still **could** overtake him. He could actually drink and get drunk. That meant he could spout out horrible stories without conscious decision, and not have to worry about being able to remember it in the morning.

The samurai wished he could say the same. As he listened to the story coming forth from slightly slurring lips, he wanted, more than anything, to erase the immunity he had to the drinks Siegfried was gulping down. Hell, he couldn't even get tipsy anymore. Trying would be no use.

He felt his heart breaking with every detail that came out of Siegfried's mouth. He kept calm for the sake of the younger man in the room, but he dreaded coming to the end of the story. He internally built up so much tension in his mind in the hopes that his imagination was worse than what had really transpired. Alas, it was not.

Link was a prisoner of a demon sword they had tried so hard to destroy. All thanks to the princess who had sent him to this world in the first place, the woman who was responsible for both giving Link to the people of this world and then just as easily taking him. Mitsurugi didn't know whether to thank her or to slap her. But he did know one thing.

He looked at the saddened German laying his head on the table. His arms were holding onto the other, forming some sort of makeshift pillow. His eyes were still open, filled with the pain of the story he had just told. Mitsurugi could see the suffering, and even though it would be forgotten in the morning, it was fairly obvious that it was hurting him **now**.

With a heavy sigh, and a gentle hand, he reached out to the young men's eyes and gently closed the tired lids.

"Sleep young one." He said softly. "And forget everything you have just said," He poured himself a drink. He knew it would do no good, but perhaps he could fool himself into thinking it could. "Do not think of something that seems to be ending. Dream of what was once just beginning."

Siegfried's breaths slowly evened out, mind lulled to sleep by surprisingly soft words.

* * *

_Link had been upset for a while now, and for the life of him, Siegfried could not figure out why. There had been no change of routine, any lack or increase of the usual behavior, so nothing different could have occurred in their daily lives to cause such a drastic change in his friend's attitude. Life had been very quiet recently, so Link had been spared the agony of seeing peoples pain and suffering. No one had said anything particularly nasty about the teenager's ears or clothes or basic appearance, so that could not have been the problem. Link would have mentioned something like that happening anyway. _

_It only made the German wonder exactly what it was that was so horrible that Link was refusing to speak about it. The blonde was usually quick to tell Siegfried if something was wrong or bothering him. Unless, of course, __**Siegfried**__ was what was wrong. Then it made sense that Link would refuse to say anything, for fear of offending or hurting Siegfried, and simply choose to wallow in his despair. Which could only lead the poor boy down a road of misery that would only end in extreme pain regardless of much of a true angel Link really was and_--

"_Did I do something wrong?"_

_Link kept his gaze out the window, his body fixed in an Indian style sitting position on the bed he had claimed as his own. He had been there since early on that morning, just staring out into the emptiness of the dawn. Now evening was fast approaching, and there was still a solemn expression on his face that had been plastered on those gentle features for almost a week. _

_It drove the knight crazy. "If I did something to offend you, let me know so that I can apologize properly."_

_Link shook his head but kept his eyes on the scenery outside. The sun was setting beyond the horizon. Soon all that would be seen were the stars and full moon. "You didn't do anything."_

"_Then what did?" The knight was desperate to solve a problem he knew nothing about. "Did someone say something to you? Did you get hurt?" Maybe he had missed something when they had crossed over to the next town. Maybe someone had said something, or tired to take a swing at him._

_But Link shook his head again. "Nothing's wrong."_

_Siegfried could not help but snort. "You've been walking around like a lifeless corpse for days. There's obviously something wrong. Or at the very least, something's not entirely right." He ventured over to the side of the bed. His strides were gentle in an attempt to show the elf that he meant no harm. _

_Link was still facing the window, lost in a daze that he could not break himself out of. He was surprised when he felt a pair of strong arms twist his body around. Sky blue eyes gazed into his gentle sea blue irises. Warm breath danced upon his lips and he could feel soft skin touching his forehead. It took a second for his mind to register what exactly was going on, but his heart knew the situation all too well. Siegfried's forehead was upon his own, Siegfried having kneeled down on the floor once he had turned Link around, leaving the two face to face in a very close proximity. Needless to say, it did not take long for Link's face to heat up like an open flame._

_Siegfried frowned for a second. "You're hot."_

_Link's eyes widened. "WH--what?" He scrambled back until he felt his spine hit the window sill. "What did you say?" _

_Siegfried blinked, stood up from his spot on the floor, and continued to wonder why his friend was acting so strangely. He almost seemed afraid of Siegfried. The knight reached out a hand and softly placed it on the 18 year olds forehead. "You're hot, warm, feel as though you might be sick." A heavy sigh left Link's lips, leading Siegfried to believe that he really __**was**__ the problem. _

_But Link smiled at him. His face was still flushed and he refused to move from his spot against the window sill, but he was smiling. That was a definite improvement. "Oh. That's what you meant."_

_Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "What did you think I meant?"_

_Maybe it was Siegfried's voice that was beginning to unnerve the blonde elf. It seemed as though every time he opened his mouth Link instantly became uncomfortable. Maybe he should consider going mute?_

"_Uh-well-I-um…" _

_For about five minutes Link tried to force some decent sentences out of his mouth. From the looks of it, Siegfried had no idea what he was saying and was obviously having a hard time understanding what the elf wanted him to hear. Link wanted to make sense, he really did. But words, it seemed, did nothing but fail him. When that realization finally hit him, he chose not to fight it. It would be no use anyway, since nothing would come out but jumbled masses of words and pigments of speech. So for the sake of keeping whatever pride he had left intact he simply decided to lean into the German's warm touch. "It's complicated."_

_At least he was speaking coherently again. "Are you sick?"_

_Link thought of shaking his head, but that would cause the hand on his head to move. He did not want that to happen. He wanted the contact to last for as long as possible. "I'm not sick."_

"_Then what's the problem?"_

_Link wanted to tell him. He just didn't know how to._

"_Please." It amazed Siegfried how close he was to begging. Him, a once proud and renowned knight, was close to getting on his hands and knees and begging the __**younger**__ elf for an answer to his questions. Just what type of person had Link reduced him to? "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."_

_Link turned red again, but there was a soft smile on that gentle face Siegfried had grown to love so much._

'_Wait a second,' The German blinked. 'What?'_

"_I'm sorry if I made you worry Siegfried." Link said softly. "I just don't know what to say." He admitted shyly. _

"_Say about what?" The knight removed his hand form his young friend's forehead._

"_I know what's wrong, but I'm not sure how to say it. I don't think it would make much sense."_

"_Try me."_

_The elf placed a gloved hand over his heart. That same depressing aura appeared to take over him once again. He looked as if he was in pain. If Siegfried didn't know any better, he'd have thought the other was injured._

"_It hurts." Link said after a moment. "I don't know why, but it hurts."_

_Maybe he __**was**__ injured after all. "Do we need to take you to a doctor?"_

_Link shook his head. "It's not that type of pain." The fist clenched. "It only hurts when I…" He thought about it for a second. "See certain things."_

"_What kind of things?" Maybe he saw something that upset him._

"_Friends, families, groups of people," He bit his lip. "I don't know what's wrong with me."_

_Siegfried let out a sigh of relief. With a smile on his face, the German took a seat next to the elf and began ruffling the younger ones hair. Once again, Link leaned into his touch. _

"_That's normal Link." He chuckled. "You're perfectly fine."_

_Link tilted his head to the side. "You know what's wrong?"_

_Siegfried nodded. "You're homesick. You must be missing someone very much. You're girlfriend maybe?" He teased._

_Link let out a laugh. A soft, joyful, almost musical, laugh. "Siegfried,"_

_The knight feigned innocence. "What?"_

_The smile remained even though the laughter soon faded. "I don't have a girlfriend. Stop teasing."_

_Siegfried held up his hands in mock surrender. "You're right, my apologies." He pretended to carefully look over the boy next to him. "A guy like you?" He grabbed the younger's chin and examined the elf's face. "You must have at least five."_

_Link playfully shoved him away, trying, but failing miserably, to put a scowl on his face. Siegfried continued to take the 'abuse' with a sly smile. This was the Link he was used to. This was the happy-go-lucky elf that had saved him from the darkness. This was the adorable angel that he had come to adore._

'_Hold on,' He mentally told himself. 'What did I--'_

"_It still hurts a bit." Link's voice broke Siegfried out of his musings once more. "Not a lot, just a little._

_Siegfried could not help but think that the elf looked completely adorable. He sounded so clueless and innocent, almost to the point of helplessness. It was enough to make the German smile. "If you want, I think I know something that might help."_

"_Really?" He tilted his head again. "What?"_

_Siegfried once again took hold of Link's shoulders and turned him so that the two were facing one another. "Promise me you won't freak out."_

"_I trust you." The amount of trust he put into the German was incredible._

_Siegfried greatly appreciated it. _

_As swiftly as the blinking of an eyelash, and just as gently, the German enveloped his elvan friend in a firm yet comforting embrace. Link involuntarily released a surprised gasp when he felt a hand on the back of his head and on the base of his spine. The elf was stunned for a second, but luckily his hands responded faster than his mind and wrapped themselves around the German's waist. _

"_Siegfried?"_

"_My mother used to tell me that the only way to lighten the load of depression is to allow the pressure of a softer burden."_

"_That sounds pretty." Links voice was so soft, so quiet, that he was surprised that Siegfried was able to hear him._

_The knight chuckled, sending little vibrations throughout Link's body. "I think it was just her fancy was of saying, if you feel bad ask for a hug." Link felt surprisingly gentle fingers run through his hair. "Still, it was always enough to make me feel better. Does it help?"_

_Link tightened his hold on Siegfried's waist. "It helps." He then felt the other about to pull away, and could not help but attempt to hold on tighter. He hoped his grip was not hurting the other male. "No."_

_The firmness of his voice took Siegfried back a bit. "Pardon?"_

"_Can we stay like this?" He almost sounded like he was begging. "Just for a little while, please?"_

_It was at this point that the knight felt his face heat up. He knew for certain that his face was flushed, but he made no more attempts to pull away. "Sure Link, whatever you want."_

_He could have sworn he felt something nuzzle against his chest. "Thank you."_

_He must have been sick. They both must have been terribly ill with some rare disease Siegfried had no clue about. There was no other explanation for why his heart was beating so wildly against his ribcage. No other reason for why his face was burning brighter than the sun. And he could come up with no logical answer as to why, despite how new and strange this was to him, Siegfried never wanted to let go._

* * *

StormBlitz: I want to slap you, and yet I want to shake your hand.

MistressOfTime1218: What do you mean by that?

StormBlitz: You managed to make me sad for Siegfried and angry at you for making him sad in the first place all at the same time.

MistressOfTime1218: Should I take that as a compliment?

DarkMist: I think it's the best you're going to get.

K-Chan: So what was with that whole, 'Do not think of something that seems to be ending, dream of what was once just beginning.' thing about?

MistressOfTime1218: You didn't get that?

K-Chan: Not really.

StormBlitz: I was curious about that as well.

DarkMist: Come on Warena fill us in.

MistressOfTime1218: Hmmm, well I guess I could mention it in the next chapter.

DarkMist: We're never going to get our answer.


	6. A Small Vision

This child was the personification of a miracle. His body had been broken beyond repair. Limbs had been shattered, skin ripped off in a moments rage, blood had spewed from his mouth like water from the raining sky. His mind had been damaged so tremendously. People had died in front of him, been slaughtered before him, had their souls destroyed right before his eyes. And yet… _he_ had not broken. His faith had not yet shaken. In his eyes there was still hope. Hope for a hero, hope for an escape, hope for a stolen freedom. He still believed in something other than the stone walls and silver shackles that bound him. The boy still believed.

"You are a fool." The cursed sword said to the elfin boy. "You stand before me shackled to a stone wall, helpless to free yourself, injured well past your limits," His hand reached out to the boys bloody throat, and squeezed until he was sure he had choked out the last possible breath. "And you still have the gall to wish for a savior."

There was defiance in those blue eyes. It was amazing. The boy could not even breathe, and yet he still had fight left in him. He still had the will to live buried deep within those sea blue eyes. He was still **challenging** Soul Edge with every fiber of his being. A miracle indeed.

"What makes you so strong?" His grip on the boy's throat loosened, but those eyes held fast to their strong opposition to the one attached to it. "Your princess was down here for a mere three days before her spirit was finally broken."

"I'm nothing like her." He growled out. "I won't give up so easily."

"You seem bitter." If physical torture would not work, perhaps emotional battering would be a better strategy to put to use. "If you hated her so much you should have just left her here. You should have just taken off without her."

The boy took in a deep breath; almost certain he would not be given the opportunity to take another. "My people need their princess. I could never deny them that."

"Yet they denied you your freedom." He mentally told himself to remember that the boy had specifically said 'their' princess. Not 'mine' or 'our'. "None of them have even tried to rescue you. That princess of yours ran away." This boy was a bit harder to break than most. Shocking really, considering that he was one of the younger warriors to ever come into contact with Soul Edge. The youth were usually the first to be cast over by absolute darkness.

But him…"I will get out of here." He said confidently. "I will make it out of this alive."

"Big words for a little boy." He was different. Link, yes that was his name, was a regular diamond in the rough. His faith was strong. "You're loyalty to your goddesses is amazing."

The elf faltered for a second. His eyes became glossed over with some type of, what seemed to be, painful emotion. It wasn't fear per say, and Soul Edge could not bring to himself to call it sadness. It was more or less like guilt.

"I'm not a child anymore." He said softly. "I can't depend on the goddess's strength forever." More like he could not bring himself to put his life into the hands of beings that had done nothing but misuse it throughout his entire existence.

But there was still belief in those young eyes. They believed in _something_. If not his goddesses, then perhaps, "Your princess then. Do you believe she will save you?" Had the sword been wrong in assuming that girl had meant nothing to the Hero of Time?

But the boy closed his eyes and bit his lip. It was another of his quirks, Soul Edge mused, that the elf used to show emotion. This one, he found, was also used to show signs of guilt.

"She won't come to save me." More like he didn't believe she could. "It's not fair to ask that of her." It was not smart to call upon the aid of a damsel in distress that he had been forced to save time and time again.

"Then who is it?" Soul Edge was quickly becoming frustrated. His questions were getting him nowhere and had served no purpose except to allow the elf a few more moments of decent breath. "Who is this mysterious hero you have placed all your trust in? Hmm? I'm dying to know."

Link actually _laughed_ at him. It was odd, and awfully infuriating, to hear. The sound was not unpleasant. It was not as joyful as a bout of laughter from Link should have been, but it was sort of like a melody in its own right. "You don't know?" A smirk landed perfectly on teasing lips. "Honestly?"

The sword growled. How dare this child openly mock him, laugh at him? Did he forget what the creature before him was capable of? "Watch your mouth child. I might just decide to cut it off."

His threat seemed to just be shrugged off. Link was not afraid of him. At this point it was safe to say he no longer feared for his life. His eyes were bright enough to shine through the darkness of the cell he lay trapped in. They showed understanding. An understanding that any death threats made against him would go unheeded. Soul Edge could not kill him, unless he wanted his own body to fall apart.

Enraged, the disgusting excuse for a human body reached out disfigured claws and ripped at the boy's throat. The gashes were nowhere near deep enough to be fatal, but they were deep enough to start quickly gushing out blood. Link's smile vanished from his face as he bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out. He would not give the creature before him the satisfaction of screaming. But the pain was apparent in his eyes and the blood pouring out of the corners his closed mouth was enough of a reassurance.

"Now tell me boy," The sword hissed out. "Who is it? Who is this person you have put so much faith in? Who in this world, or any other world for that matter, could possibly stand up against me?"

Link narrowed his eyes. He turned his head to the right then swiftly swung it to the left, taking care to spit out all of the blood that had built up in his mouth right in the center of Soul Edge's face. He savored the moment of shock written in the evil blade's expression before gathering enough strength to answer.

"The one who freed himself of you many years ago." His voice was strong, despite blood dripping down from the sides of his mouth. "The only man who was ever able to escape your grasp."

Soul Edge narrowed his mutated crimson eyes. This child could not possibly be speaking of who he thought he was speaking of. He could not possibly mean that one soul Link had taken from him long ago. He could not possibly mean…

"Siegfried." The angelic voice called out, before succumbing to the all too tempting darkness unconsciousness offered him.

* * *

His body lurched forward almost instinctively. Breath released itself slowly and painfully while the lungs did their best to steady them. Eyes moved swiftly from side to side, helplessly, fearfully, and almost desperately. Siegfried could see nothing but the room he had been shown the night before. The room he had been told would be his until he decided to leave the mansion of the old man. There were o dungeon walls, no chains binding someone to the wall, and there was no Soul Edge torturing an elf Siegfried had cared about more than anything else in the world. What he had seen had been nothing more than a dream.

A choked sob escaped his mouth accompanying small streams of tears relentlessly clawing their way out of his eyes.

That had been…that was just so…

_**Cruel.**_

He held his knees tightly to his chest and rested his head upon him. He had known long ago that he would encounter enemies in his life. As a knight he had been almost guaranteed armies worth of adversaries in the battle torn world. Monsters, humans, weapons and spirits, everything had been a possible opponent. Every aspect of life was expected to be your worst possible enemy. But Siegfried had never expected his own mind to betray him.

It knew Link was his biggest weakness. Everyone in every world in every dimension in any parallel universe knew that. It was no big secret. Even if Siegfried wanted to hide it, which he never would in the first place, he would never be able to pull the charade off. Link was too precious to him and he would always have a special hold on the German's heart. Because of that, Siegfried would always treat the elf differently.

He would always be gentler with Link, even if he was acting foolishly. Everyone else was sure to get the riot act read followed by a look that said, 'You reek of utter stupidity'. Siegfried would always go out of his way to make Link smile, even if it were just for a second. Anybody else could simply get over it or continue to wallow in their depression. Link was always fist on the list. Anyone else was lucky to even be written down.

It was blatantly obvious that Link had Siegfried wrapped around his pretty little finger. Still, that did not give anyone the right to use that against him. Especially not his own mind. It knew that Link was special to him. It knew that seeing the boy tortured and hurt, even if it was just a dream, would kill him to the very core. So why the hell had it done that? And why had it made that dream so real?

Everything had been so clear. There were no faint spots of moments or hazed clarity. The German had seen everything perfectly, from the rust of Link's chains to the decayed skin on Soul Edge's body. He could smell the foul stench of the musty cell mixed in with the sweat coming down from Link's brow. He could feel the thickness of the air surrounding both captive and his capturer. He could practically taste the blood coming out of Link's stubborn mouth. Worse than that, he had heard every pained noise the elf had made, almost as if the two had been right next to each other. And he had been able to do nothing to stop it.

Siegfried had no idea what that was, but it was sure as hell no dream. He wanted to believe it was. More than anything he wanted to fool himself into thinking that what he had seen had been nothing more than a figment of his imagination. But who was he kidding? Nothing so terrible could be fiction. Life saved the worst of things for the real world.

A knock sounded through the air, but Siegfried was in no mood to hear it. His ears were still focused on the last thing he had heard before he had woken up. His name, Link had muttered it right before everything went black. He had called out to him, and Siegfried could do nothing. He was not even able to answer. Some help he was.

The door opened up and in waltzed Mitsurugi. By now the tears that had fallen down Siegfried's face had ceased in their decent. Maybe they decided to give the obviously distraught knight some type of break, or perhaps they knew they would not be wiped away or paid attention to. Whatever the reason, by the time the Samurai had stepped into the room, there was nothing on his solemn face to signify that he had been crying.

Still, something had seemed out of place. "What's wrong Schtauffen? Rough night?"

Siegfried did not respond. He did not so much as move.

"Siegfried?"

The knight could barely hear him now. The images, the sounds, the taste of blood on innocent lips, were clouding his mind over in a crimson mist.

Mitsurugi shook the young man when he got no verbal response. The action got him nothing. Not a twitch of the eye, not a shake of the head. Just more silence. The samurai shook a bit harder. The German stayed still. So he tried harder still. He did not get even the slightest of peeps from the dazed blonde.

It was quite unnerving. Mitsurugi knew that Siegfried was not a morning person. It did not matter who had awoken him. If it was before noon they were considered public enemy number one, and as such they were wanted dead or alive. While not one warrior would ever admit to being concerned about such a thing, they would testify to it being the reason why they had always wanted Yunseong to wake Siegfried up. That or they would need to call upon the only person Siegfried never allowed his temper to hurt. Link.

And then it hit him like a sack of thick bricks. "Link."

_That_ managed to get him a reaction. But as he looked down at those devastatingly heartbroken eyes, he found himself missing the silence he had been wary of a second ago. "Good God, what the hell happened to you?"

"I saw," Such a soft voice. Far too dormant for a knight of great strength. "I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"Link." Came the longing reply. "He was hurt."

Mitsurugi could not follow Siegfried's train of thought. The German was not even really saying anything. Just short bursts of soft thoughts. "What are you trying to say?"

Siegfried sighed and looked down at his hands. "I fell asleep, and when I woke up I remember seeing him. Soul Edge had him and," His eyes quivered just a bit. "He called my name."

Well, while he still did not have a complete picture, he at least had the border of the puzzle. "You had a nightmare."

Siegfried shook his head. "It was so real."

Mitsurugi tried coaxing the knight out of bed. He did not have much difficulty actually getting him out of it, but he did have a bit of a problem getting him away from it. Siegfried seemed to want to stay near the last possible place he had seen Link, even if it that place had given birth to a nightmare. Because even though it had hurt him to the very core, that bad dream had been the only concrete and real time he had seen the elf in over two years. In this state the German was unable to see that nothing about that nightmare had been real at all.

"Come on," The Samurai insisted. "Let's get you into the shower so you can wake up."

Siegfried resisted him. "I am awake."

Now the Samurai was starting to panic. The longer the German spoke, the more it sounded as though he had lost the will to live. "Snap out of it Schtauffen. You had a bad dream. End of story."

"But it felt real." He insisted.

"Nightmares often do. But it was all a figment of your imagination, understand? It was **not** real."

Siegfried actually looked at him with **disbelief**. He honestly thought that Mitsurugi was **lying** to him. This was getting ridiculous. Mitsurugi was a patient man, and extremely lenient when it came to the younger warriors he had traveled with in the past, but even his patience had its limits. Fear was one of the few things that could put it on a very thin line, one that broke as easily as glass shattering on a patch of rocky terrain. And right now he was not ashamed to admit that he was afraid.

In a moment of uncertainty, and utter frustration, Mitsurugi brought up his hand and quickly connected it with Siegfried's face.

The clap rang out through the empty room, leaving an awkward echo in its midst. Siegfried blinked several times as Mitsurugi brought back his hand. The samurai could not keep his vision on one object for very long. His gaze kept shifting from Siegfried back to the hand he had slapped him with. His eyes were confused on whether to convey a feeling of guilt or complete satisfaction. His mind was having the same discussion.

Finally his voice decided to attempt some kind of explanation. "I'm--"

"Thank you."

The samurai looked back to the young man. "Come again?"

"I said thank you." He rubbed the side of his face with his hand. It didn't really hurt all that much, which was surprising considering who had struck him, but it was odd to feel that familiar sting again. No one had laid a hit on him since Soul Edge's defeat. "I needed that."

Mitsurugi was not quite sure how to respond to that. He had to admit it. It was strange for someone, anyone really, to thank another person for physically assaulting them, even if the assault was rather small. Still, Siegfried's voice sounded stronger than it had been a little while ago, and that apology actually seemed sincere.

"You're welcome?" So he decided that for the moment he would leave the situation as it was.

Siegfried continued to rub at his injured face. "I was pretty out of it wasn't I?"

"That's a bit of an understatement."

"Sorry." He said sincerely. His voice was sterner, a lot more like the Siegfried Mitsurugi knew. "It won't happen again."

"What the hell made it happen the first time?"

"That dream," His voice trailed off as the content of his midnight scare returned.

Mitsurugi was almost frantically trying to figure out a way to keep those thoughts from overtaking Siegfried completely. The problem was that he had no clue what this dream was about. How was he supposed to keep something at bay if he could not even know what made up its being?

"You keep talking about this dream. What happened in it to make you so disturbed?"

The German laughed. It was a brittle little thing that sounded rather pained and forced. "Disturbed? Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Trust me. I could think of a lot harsher things to say."

Siegfried knew that was probably true. "It was more of a nightmare." Siegfried admitted. "Link was chained to a wall being tortured by Soul Edge."

"What did it look like?"

The blonde scowled. "Like a burned bloody body." In fact it had looked exactly as Zelda had described. "It seemed to have no qualms about making Link squirm. It kept picking at him, kept trying to break him, both physically and emotionally."

"Did Link survive?"

Siegfried clutched his head. "I think so. He seemed to black out at the end of the dream, but I think that was more exhaustion than anything else." And also, "He called for me right before he passes out. He told Soul Edge that he was sure I would save him. Then everything turned black for the both of us."

Mitsurugi did not know what to say. He knew the knight was still somewhat distraught. It was obvious in the way he spoke, and apparent in the way he moved. There was still a part of that dream that unnerved him, even though Link had not died within it. Yes, he knew all of this. Yet, Mitsurugi had no idea how to comfort him. At best he could only offer a few kind words, but that was about it. And even then, those supposedly kind words would probably end up coming out crueler than Mitsurugi intended. He never had been good at consoling anyone.

"Are you going to be okay?" Was about the only response he could come up with. It was short, uncaring, utterly pathetic, and Mitsurugi cursed himself for it the second it left his mouth.

Siegfried simply waved him off with a tired hand. "I'll be alright. You go on ahead. I'll meet you at the breakfast table." He saw doubt rein over Mitsurugi's eyes. "I'll be fine, really, go get something to eat. And check on Epona for me while you're at it?"

The samurai stood his ground for minute, but finally relented and turned towards the exit.

Siegfried waited until he heard the familiar click of the door, before he finally collapsed back on the bed. Now that he had a moment to relax he realized…he was in pain. His senses had decided that now was the best time to bombard Siegfried with a dose of their most powerful capabilities. The light around the room seemed brighter to his fragile eyes, small noises seemed explosive to his poor ears, and even the smells around him seemed more potent to his defensive nose. It took him a second, but he realized, with a great amount of distaste, that he was in the middle of a hangover. A very painful, though somewhat delayed, hangover.

He sat up slowly, wondering how he had managed to get inside his room in the first place. Had he gotten up on his own? Had he been carried? He couldn't remember. He had obviously gone a little overboard with the drinking the night before. Maybe he should have toned it down a bit? He had drunk so much he was unable to recall anything that occurred after that first glass.

He had a very vague idea of what _might_ have transpired. He must have told Mitsurugi what had happened to Link. That had been the purpose of the alcohol in the first place, after all. To loosen his tongue so that he would have been able to explain the unfortunate circumstances without sounding too pathetic. It might have worked a little too well if his memory had become this impaired.

Then again it might not have worked at all. All that drinking could have been for nothing. He might have just passed out after the first few drinks, or completely gone off topic and blacked out before he had the chance to say what he wanted to.

And that dream. He groaned as the remnants of _that_ dream reached the forefront of his mind yet again. That had been such an awful nightmare, and such an odd one at that. Now that he had the time to examine it rationally, he realized how out of place it was to him. Even for a nightmare straight out of his own somewhat twisted subconscious, it was completely out of his league.

Siegfried would not deny the fact that he had dreamt of Link before. They used to be simple figments of his imagination, just little occasions the two of them would encounter in his head. Recently they had shifted to memories the two of them had shared together, just as the first dream he had experienced last night had been. But the second one…he had never had dreams quite like that one before. That was neither imaginary nor a memory of a beloved past. This one was…

It had seemed too real. He could see the blood falling from the elf's gentle lips. He was able to hear the ripping of the boy's soft skin. He could practically taste the mildew encased in the small damp cell. He could actually smell the sweat coming down from Link's soaked brow. _That _could not have been a dream. No dream was as clear and precise as what he had seen last night. He was willing to bet money that he had been right in assuming that it was more than just a stream of unconscious thought. So if it wasn't a dream, what was it?

His mind tried to rationalize the whole thing. Maybe it had been the after effects of retelling all that had happened to his trapped friend. Perhaps his mind had simply chosen to torture him by giving him the absolute worst possible images of what his friend was going through. So it felt real, that was normal right? All nightmares feel real when you're trapped within its grasp. That is, after all, what makes them so scary. So if he kept thinking along those lines, then all he had to do to avoid dreaming about things like that again, was to not tell anyone else just how much trouble Link was in. He would just have to avoid thinking about how much danger the young blonde was in, and how pain he must have been suffering.

Siegfried blinked. He would need to stop thinking about those things fairly soon, lest his sanity be lost with the sands of time. In fact he would have to forget about that dream altogether. He was thinking about it far too much, his logics were conflicting with one another and his minds thoughts were beginning to repeat themselves.

Groggily, he stood up and made his way around the room in a blurred frenzy. Finding clothes, putting them on, trying to figure out what time it was, all done with a sloppy precision the knight was surprisingly able to pull off. The alcohol he consumed the night before was now starting to fully work against his system, lending him a horrible nausea to add to the horrible headache pounding against his skull.

Throughout the course of getting ready he mentally told himself over and over again that he would never do something so stupid again. Next time, that princess was opening her mouth and telling the story herself. The only reason he had explained it in the first place was because he had no idea how Mitsurugi was going to react. For all Siegfried knew, Zelda could have been killed the second she took the blame for what had happened to her young hero. That was not the result Siegfried wanted, or needed for that matter. As much as it killed him to say it, he needed her alive. So he took it upon himself to tell a story that killed him a little more on the inside every time he uttered another word.

He would never make that mistake again.

"Link," He whispered miserably. "I should have never let you leave this world."

_That_ had been the real reason for his disappearance all those years ago. _That_ had been the motive for isolating himself from all those who cared about him. _That_ had been his ammunition that he used to punish himself with. He had left Link leave this world, and he was pretty sure he could have stopped the departure. After all he and Link had been friends, good friends, and they would have done anything for each other. Or at least, Siegfried would have done anything for Link.

He should have asked him to stay. Maybe none of this would have happened if he had. But he had been scared. Scared of the rejection, scared of the result, scared of what that question really meant to him, and scared of what that question might mean to Link. In the end it had been easier to just let go. Let go of those amazing blue eyes, let go of that angelic voice, and let go of that absolutely amazing smile.

And what good had that really done him? Now, Link had become nothing but a memory. A precious memory that would be all he had left of Link if he were to betray his friend's trust, and arrive too late to save him.

* * *

MistressOfTime1218: And there you have it. Three chapters of one of my favorite stories. Though it is a bit shorter than what I had wanted, and the ending isn't really up to my expectations. But it got the job done.

K-Chan: Finally! You'd think that you'd given up on this the way you kept putting off the posting date.

MistressOfTime1218: Never!

StormBlitz: Well I'm just happy you put this out, but you've made a lot of people unhappy. I wouldn't be surprised if your readers stopped looking at this.

MistressOfTime1218: I know, I know. So in an attempt to make up for my lack of updating I propose a peace offering. Any reader who feels like they want more may ask me for a one-shot involving this story, in fact please do so if you really want one. Or they can choose another fandom. If I know about it I'll try to write for you. Consider it my way of apologizing for keeping you all waiting.

DarkMist: Any limitations?

MistressOfTime1218: Nada. It can be AU, or romance, or dark angst, absolutely anything you want. It really doesn't even have to be SiegfriedXLink, though I think most would want to. The choice is yours.

StormBlitz: Finally! I want Marth!

DarkMist: Ike first!

K-Chan: You better do Roy!

MistressOfTime1218: Whoa! I said readers get to choose.

K-Chan: We do read this!

DarkMist: And after all the times you made us reread it, we better get some kind of treat for not killing you!

MistressOfTime1218: (Backing up) Fine, fine, I'll do it. But only because I love you guys. (Grabs laptop) What do you guys want?

K-Chan: I want a Roy and Link Halloween fic. A murder mystery, or haunted encounter, whatever, but make it creepy.

MistressOfTime1218: I'll do my best, but it might not make it in time for Halloween.

K-Chan: I suppose that will be fine. But I expect you to add on once other holidays arrive. Including my birthday!

MistressOfTime1218: Good grief.

DarkMist: I want Ike angst. Don't care what he angst's about, just make it make it angsty.

MistressOfTime1218: I think I can do that.

StormBlitz: Like I said, I want Marth. Marth and Link would be good and I want a confrontation between Marth and Siegfried. Have Marth give him an encouraging yet discouraging speech about Link at the same time.

K-Chan: Did that make sense? At all?

MistressOfTime1218: That's ok. I think I have a good idea on what to do anyway. So the rest of you are all welcomed to do what these three just did. Just send me the details and I'll get to work.


	7. Father and Daughter

Siegfried did not have the words to describe the type of mood he was in. Mad was far too tiny an inclination, angry would never begin to fully cover it, and infuriated was too small a word to describe the emotion that was consuming him. To his credit he did do a fantastic job of keeping his temper in check. It was a skill he had not always possessed, and it was a skill he had worked hard to perfect.

Years ago, when Link had chosen to stay by his side, Siegfried had been a very angry person. Even the smallest of things were certain to aggravate his nerves. He had snapped at his young companion many times during the first couple of weeks of their travels. It had taken much to ease the embers of rage inside of him, but Link had been patient. The elf had worked with him when the knight had gotten angry, and always did his best to soothe his irritated friend. It had taken much, but the lesson eventually stuck.

But now the lessons he had learned from the young hero were beginning to slip away.

His feet were aching terribly, his body was knee deep in mud, the sun was beating down on him from the small slits between treetops, and his temper was threatening to explode. The smells of the swamp surrounding him were almost gag worthy. Musty, old, rotting pieces of earth and shrubbery bombarded his senses. That, coupled with the suns simmering rays, was enough to make him want to slap the one person he felt was responsible for this.

"I hate you." He grumbled loudly enough to be easily heard. "I want you to know this."

Zelda glared at him through the particularly low hanging roots in front of her. "There's no need for you to take your frustrations out on me."

He almost felt like growling. The only thing stopping him was the stubbornness to give Zelda any kind of ammunition to throw back at him later on. "Isn't it an old custom to blame the person responsible for your misery?"

"Don't you dare try to blame this all on me!"

"Hard to do otherwise when it's all your fault!"

Beside the two of them, Mitsurugi rolled his eyes. He tried to guide Epona through swampy terrain while simultaneously ignoring the two with him. The horse seemed less than eager to move forward, even though the Samurai reassured her that going back would be even worse than where they were now. He could not blame her for doubting him. The further they ventured on inside the murky infested land, the more curious, and rather disgusting, creatures attempted to introduce themselves. Small fish with odd scale patterns, slimy eels and other such relatives who loved to rub against their legs, and bugs whose sharpened little jaws were anxious to take a bite out of them. It took all he had to keep Epona calm enough to move forward without running away himself.

But Siegfried and Zelda kept arguing, making leaving them behind all the more tempting by the second.

"This is utterly ridiculous."

"Your entire existence is utterly ridiculous."

"Why don't you stop acting like a child?"

"Why don't you stop acting like you can order me around?"

Mitsurugi growled. "Why don't you both stop arguing until we get out of this damn swap?" He felt Epona struggle against his grip while a strange creature slithered against his ankle. Try as he might he could not see anything beneath the murky waters. "You're scaring the horse."

Siegfried knew better than to even attempt an argument. When Mitsurugi spoke, everyone in his party was quick to stop what they were doing and listen. There was no objecting, there was no complaining, and there was no whining. Any attempts at doing so would result in a nasty injury and an earful of how they deserved it after having ample warning.

"I still don't see why he insists on taking this out on me."

And yet, even the fear of severe repercussion by a very well kept blade was not enough to keep him from responding to the trap Zelda had planted. "Because you were the one who accused the old man of poisoning his competition at the breakfast table. You even called him out on it, saying he used us to get the poison."

"He did use us."

Siegfried was very pleased when he stepped on something rather hard and shattered it to pieces beneath the swamp waters. If he closed his eyes and blocked out his surroundings, he could almost pretend it was the princess's skull. "Us? What's this about us? **I** was the one who got all the damn ingredients."

"For a deadly toxin that would in no way be used for rats." She halted for a second. Her attention moved to the liquid below her, noting how still it was now that she had stopped moving. Funny, she could have sworn she saw something slithering along in the water. Nevertheless she quickly hurried on to catch up to the two warriors trudging along in mud. They seemed to have little to no problems leaving her behind in this terrain. "I was not about to let some innocent man be the test subject for a new murder weapon."

She could hear Siegfried scoff, but all she could see was the back of his head. "What we gave him wasn't going to kill anyone."

She felt an intense rage filter in at his cocky voice. That nonchalance, the lack of proper care, it could only mean one thing. This man was obviously as cruel and as heartless as Zelda had initially thought he was. She was certain now that he did not care one way or the other what happened to people as long as he got what he wanted, and while what he and Zelda both ultimately wanted was their hero's safe return, he had an evil way of showing it.

Well, Zelda was not one to stand idly by and let people die in her saviors honor. She would not have his good name tarnished with this man's indifference.

"How dare you?" She hissed. "You would let a killer do as he wishes while our hero lies in shackles fighting against one? You are no better than that sword."

Siegfried had frozen for just a second. In that one second every sin Zelda had ever committed was swiftly brought into the forefront of his mind. Before he could stop himself, his memories began replaying every single horror story and every single scar Link had ever revealed to be attributed to the girl he served. Siegfried then quickly turned around with the full intention of going after the girl's throat. Restrictions be dammed. Now he was angry. He had been patient enough with this girl, but she just kept pushing every button she could find. He would teach her.

Or so he thought.

He had honestly not expected Mitsurugi to get in his way. Or for the samurai to be strong enough to successfully hold him back. "Get a hold of yourself Siegfried! What in the world do you think you're doing?"

"Getting even." His voice was oddly cold, which was very ironic considering the boiling rage festering within him. When he got his hands on that girl.

"This is exactly what she wants. Hit her and she proves what a monster you are."

Siegfried growled in spite of himself. "I'm no monster!" Link had said he wasn't. The elf had never believed he was, and Siegfried would always believe in Link's opinion. Never hers.

"Prove it then! Stand down!"

"You have no idea what this brat has been putting me through." The knight spat out, still struggling against the man retraining him. "If she wants to play these stupid games, then I'll show her what happens when she loses."

"Would you listen to yourself? You're getting too upset over something so foolish. Be a man and fall back."

But it seemed that at the moment, being a man was the farthest thing from Siegfried's mind. Right now his only goal in life was getting rid of one irritating, condescending princess. He would face the consequences after she was dead. Kill first, ask questions later.

Even the threatening tone Mitsurugi was using was not enough to break through the haze this sudden anger had overshadowed him with. He just did not care. Not about Zelda, not about the samurai's words, not about his own punishment. He did not care for any of them. However, Mitsurugi knew something the knight _would_ care about.

Even though it was a cheap shot, when it seemed as though he might never be heard, Mitsurugi knew it was time for a blow beneath the belt. "What would Link think if he saw you now?"

The freezing of Siegfried's body was almost instant. The guilt in his heart came soon after, as did the lowering of his head. "That was a dirty trick."

"And I apologize for having to stoop that low." The samurai sincerely meant it. He always did hate it when the situation called for filthy tricks like that. They always left a sour taste in his mouth. "But you left me no choice."

After a long moment Siegfried let out a long, agitated sigh. Mitsurugi was right. Of course he was right. Link would be disgusted if he saw Siegfried like this. If not disgusted, then at least disappointed. He knew the German had more self control than that. To let it go over something as insignificant as a princess like Zelda, it was downright disgraceful. To do so in Link's honor would be even worse.

So he tightened his hands and clenched his teeth, letting them be the barrier that restricted a tongue with far too much to say. Now was not the time. "You can let go now."

Mitsurugi seemed unconvinced. His arms stayed as stiff as a board as he looked for signs of a calm rage. Siegfried was all but famous for such behavior, and he could hide it until it was too late to do anything about it. The samurai could remember several instances where that silent rage was unleashed without warning, or knowledge, on the part of his own party. Unleashing it on Zelda would not be very difficult, especially with the way she had been acting.

"I'm good." Siegfried reassured. "I won't try anything."

"Can I get that in writing?"

Siegfried chuckled. "You could if you let me go."

Mitsurugi still seemed hesitant about releasing him, but a few seconds later Siegfried found that he was able to move his arms freely again. Sparing a look towards the older man, Siegfried understood just what that release meant. It was a favor, a privilege that was given to him only on the basis that he wouldn't use his strength to strangle the girl traveling with them. If he were to show any kind of serious violent intention towards her, he would not only be restricted, but he would also be unable to voice his opinions from then on. He would be forced to be silenced because of his own stupidities.

Still, the anger in his heart would not subside. Mitsurugi had done well to knock it down to size, but it did not disappear. Siegfried knew it would probably remain, there deep in his heart, until the princess was far enough away from him that he could pretend that she did not exist. It would not be properly satisfied either. Not until he did something to make Zelda feel at least a portion of the pain he had been experiencing.

He knew physically was now out of the question, but there was more than one method of hurting someone.

He dug into his pocket. Seconds later he roughly pulled out a few pieces of foliage he had managed to sneak into his possession before being kicked out of the mansion. He flung them all at the princess. She was able to catch a few, but as expected she let many fall down into the muck beneath her.

She glared at him for a second, but curiosity ultimately forced her to examine what he had thrown at her. "What are these?"

"I may not be an expert on plant life, but I do know thing or two." He said coldly. "I was well aware of the poison that resided in the plants I gathered."

"So then why,"

"I also knew that only **one** section of the flower could do any real harm to human beings. A single red root hidden amongst the other denser greens of the plant. That is the only section with enough poison to kill anything bigger than a beetle."

She quickly examined the roots in her hands.

"Take those out, and the rest of the plant is harmless. By the time the old man figured out I had taken away his means of poisoning, we would have already been long gone with a few choice horses and that much closer to Link." By this time, the bitterness in his voice had finally reached his eyes.

Zelda could hardly stand their intensity. Though the knight did not say another word she understood his implication. She had slowed them down, at least by a few weeks, simply because of her selfish desire to be the one to defend Link's name. In doing so she had blatantly ignored the heroes request to accept help from the only one who could save him. She had once again betrayed the elf's trust, and once again it was he who would ultimately pay the price.

Mitsurugi grumbled under his breath and motioned for Epona to move forward. She did not struggle against him this time. Zelda and Siegfried chose to follow behind them in silence.

Mitsurugi was not happy. It just figured that after finally accepting that Link was gone for good, two years of forceful recognition of reality, the man was suddenly bombarded with what could become an even bigger loss to his heart. And of course his current company did nothing to soothe his worries about getting to the elf too late. Fantastic.

This was why he had always chosen to travel alone. With no one but yourself for company, it was easy to forgo any painful emotions that would cause problems. Things like loss, betrayal, attachment, and worry. Feelings that were sure to get you killed if you dwelled on them too long. Either that or you got too accustomed to who you were traveling with. Then, when they left or died, you were the one stuck with the wounds they accidently inflicted upon you.

He had not wanted that. Mitsurugi had always wanted to just live his life by the sword on his own, and he had been doing a pretty good job of that. Until he had gone against his better judgment and began working with other people who had managed to worm their way onto his good side. Let in one optimistic elf and his German friend and suddenly things all go to hell. A hell that you would still be paying for years later.

A sudden whine from Epona had Mitsurugi leaving his bitter thoughts alone for the moment in favor of glancing towards her saddle. The horse did not show any signs of distress, but the samurai did take notice of a pouch moving about on the side of her saddle.

"Did a bug find its way in there?"

Siegfried looked at the pouch in question. It took him a moment to remember that it was the pouch Navi had claimed as her traveling space for entirety of the journey in this world. "That's just the fairy."

"A what?"

Siegfried took notice of the pouch's movements as well. They seemed forceful, almost frantic. Like somewhere in that cramped space the fairy was attempting to relay a message of dire importance. Which puzzled him, seeing as the group was perfectly fine. Greatly upset at one another, but fine nonetheless.

"It doesn't need to go or something does it?"

Siegfried held back a chuckle. "I don't think that's the case." Though now that he thought about it, he really had no idea how a fairy did things. How she ate, how she slept, how she…did other things. He had not really paid too much attention to her since she and the princess had arrived.

Though, looking back on it now, he really should have.

She burst out of the pouch mere seconds later. Siegfried then found his head being viciously attacked by the blue ball he had nearly forgotten was there. She was persistent in her onslaught, going from the top of his head to the front of his face, spouting sentences so quickly that all the German could hear was a panicked hum.

"Slow down," He tried to slap her away. "What's the matter with you?"

"Something's in the water!"

It was then that Siegfried heard it. A snort. A snort many people residing in the Western world would recognize as a pig. In Germany, however, that snort was a sign of an animal much more vicious than the average farm pig, and it had a reputation for being violent. The notorious wild boar.

Siegfried had come into contact with these creatures only once before in his life, and that first encounter had been more than enough to leave an impression. He had been a young adolescent back then, just a boy who had very recently celebrated his twelfth birthday. His father had decided to take him out on a hunting trip one day. Its purpose was to teach the young Schtauffen the tricks of the trade of survival. Frederick had been somewhat apprehensive about bringing the young boy along, as he very well should have been. Siegfried had been cocky back then. He was a boy who thought himself a man with no regard to the world around him. He thought he could do anything, including trespassing on a mother boar's territory. He still had the scar on his left leg from the encounter.

Now he was staring down a group of them, a much more dangerous threat to him than that single mother had been. He wondered how he had not noticed these creatures coming up behind them, but he would ignore that for the moment. He had bigger problems to deal with. The most important of which was figuring out how he could possibly come out of the situation without another scar on his body.

"Don't move." He whispered to his companions.

Zelda held back a whimper. "What should we do?"

"Kill them?" Mitsurugi asked softly, staring down the animals a few yards in front of them.

But Siegfried shook his head. "These are not the kinds of creatures who will let themselves be slaughtered. They'll fight back, and when they do, they'll leave a nasty scar."

"So what? We stand here until they leave?"

Zelda looked at the boar's scrutinizing gazes. "Perhaps they'll leave if we show them we mean no harm?"

The animals simultaneously took a step forward.

Siegfried took that to mean that they had apparently already made up their minds about their human guests. That conclusion was that, yes, they did indeed mean harm. "I don't think that will work." The boar's stepped forward again, tusks already at full attention. "Nope, absolutely will not work."

"So what do we do?" The samurai asked as his group took a tentative step back.

"I want you both to listen carefully." Siegfried whispered. "I am going to count to three. When I say one, Mitsurugi will grab hold of Epona's reins. When I say two, the princess will grab onto the saddle. When I say three, I'll take hold of Navi, the princess will jump onto the saddle, and Mitsurugi and I will proceed to run for it."

Zelda nervously looked at Epona. "Is that really all that wise? She won't let me ride her."

"She will today," Siegfried said firmly, looking towards the horse in question. "Won't you?"

Epona, somewhat reluctantly, nodded in reassurance.

"One."

The reins were taken in hand.

"Two."

Hands were placed on a saddle.

"Three."

In a fast paced chaos of rushed movements, the group followed the orders given to them seconds ago, and ran. In those few fearful seconds marking the beginning of their escape, they realized that speed would be of no help to them. Nature was not with them in this element. The animals chasing them knew the terrain. They could determine the best way to trap these trespassing humans. The swamp itself kept slowing the group's movements with each new step. Whatever died there, or died elsewhere and just so happened to wind up there, was pulling and yanking on their feet.

All the while Siegfried could not stop his mind from wondering. What on earth was going on here? Boars did not travel in packs. They were territorial creatures. It was unlikely that any of them had decided to randomly join together for the sake of protecting one piece of land that could not have possibly belonged to all of them. It made about as much sense as he and Zelda suddenly deciding to exchange wedding vows, which was not only impossible, but quite frankly disgusted him.

"Hold it!"

It was almost second nature by now for Siegfried to follow an order coming from a higher authority, even when his mind had not understood its purpose. It was that nature that had his feet sliding to a halt before his mind could fully process why he was doing it when Mitsurugi called out the order. His eyes soon decided that it had been the best course of action when they took in what was before them.

"Oh for the love of!"

A sharp decline of land, a landslide more or less, of mud and water cascading down a very steep hill. One wrong step would send anyone tumbling, and it was a very long way down.

"Can we go back?"

They immediately turned around, only to realize that they were staring down the group of boars they had been foolishly trying to run away from. And those boars were slowly approaching them, horns glinting even with the lack of good lighting. Siegfried needed a plan B, and he needed one fast. In his hand Navi had gone suddenly still. He had done his best to keep his grip somewhat loose, but maybe he had held on too tightly. Asking her for advice now would be no good. She was in no state to give it.

Epona could no longer stand the growing tension. She took one look at the looming threat in front of her, saw an unfamiliar black glint in empty eyes, and started to panic. She tugged roughly at the reins Mitsurugi held. He fought her for control. She responded by whining loudly and shrieking madly for him to let go. He struggled to keep her steady, and Zelda tried her best to call Siegfried's attention to the problem at hand. He turned around just in time to see Epona raise her front hoofs off of the ground. Mitsurugi and Siegfried jumped to grab hold of her reins, holding on for dear life to an edge of her saddle. For a moment they seemed frozen in the air.

When time restarted again, Epona had made a sharp turn, and when her hoofs went to hit the ground, they instead met the air that was just over the decline they had been trying to avoid. The group tumbled down. Mud splashing into hair, rough patches of land digging its way in skin, cutting and ripping small areas of flesh. It seemed at one point as though the fall would never end.

When it finally did, each member of the small party was thrown on a surprisingly dry piece of land somewhere below the large slope of land. Mitsurugi and Zelda lay next to one another for a moment, while Siegfried lay further beside Epona and Navi, who had shockingly stayed in his grasp during the fall. Their breaths came out harshly, each of them desperately trying to calm their beating hearts, trying to ignore the pain in their bodies.

Slowly each sat up, checking themselves over for any kind of serious injury. Mitsurugi suddenly looked startled when a check of his robes seemed to turn up empty. He padded himself down before he stood up abruptly, eyes scanning the ground for something. Zelda followed his example and pushed herself up from the ground.

"What's the matter?"

"Where is it?"

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Where is what?"

He did not answer her. His eyes caught sight of something, apparently what he had been searching for, and he snatched it up without a second thought. He dusted it off for a good minute before he held it up to the sun. That was when everyone in the group recognized what he had been so worried about losing. It was a medallion.

A thick golden band wrapped around a single group of triangles that had been fused together to create the illusion of one very symbolic shape. The triforce; Power standing atop the flat pyramid, wisdom at the bottom right of the formation, courage being left to its own devices on the left, shone brightly in the midmorning sun. There was a unique energy flooding through every inch of gold. It was unseen, unnoticeable to the average human heart, but it was there all the same. It was an energy that each member of the group was able to recognize.

To Mitsurugi it was the endless smile of his adopted son. To Epona it was the gentle call of her master. To Zelda it was the presence of her beloved hero. And to Siegfried it was the kind soul of his most precious person. To each and every one of them it was Link's boundless and generous life energy.

Zelda reached for it, but Mitsurugi retracted his hand too quickly for her to grasp onto it. "What is it you want with this?"

She was unable to speak for a moment. "That artifact, where did you get it?"

"Where do you think? Link gave it to me." Mitsurugi eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"

Zelda finally managed to regain a bit of her composure, and at last she took back her hand. "That object is used as a medium."

"A medium? A medium for what?"

Siegfried stood up from the ground and dusted himself off with his left hand. The other held onto to a panting Navi, who had worn herself out from the earlier fiasco. She was semi conscious and no doubt tired beyond recognition. He gently set her atop Epona's saddle, making sure the horse was alright, before turning his attention to Zelda for her explanation.

"By transferring a small portion of a person's magic energy into the object you now hold, a user can track and follow that object to wherever it my wonder to. And by giving it to a person, or attaching it to another object, they are also able o keep a silent eye on whoever has it."

Siegfried spared a glance at the small item in Mitsurugi's hand. "So it's a tracking device?"

Zelda nodded. "In a sense it is. Anyone with basic magic training could make use of it. Since it uses the users own magic energy, it is almost like following themselves."

Siegfried looked at the object longingly. He used to have one just like it, Link had given one to about seven people in his group, but Siegfried's had gotten lost. Rather, he had left it behind when he disappeared after Link's departure. The German had been in shambles about forgetting it, but when he went back to retrieve it, the group had already moved on. There had been no sign of his medallion anywhere.

"So," Mitsurugi began. "How do we follow this trail?"

"You can't." Zelda crudely pointed out. "Neither of you have the magic abilities needed to follow our hero's energy."

Siegfried could almost swear she was happy about that. "And you do?"

She nodded proudly. "After years of training, it should be fairly simple to pick up the presence of the trail."

"And yet it took you this long to sense the presence of the beginning of the trail." Siegfried muttered loudly enough to be heard. He felt a great deal of satisfaction when he saw her scowl.

"I can follow it." She said a bit more humbly. "All it requires is a decent amount of energy."

Siegfried was almost reluctant to believe her. It was instinct now to see the world through a pessimistic eye. This could not be so simple.

"It's not." Zelda said to him, as though he had spoken aloud. Perhaps it had been the look on his face. "In theory, this should be as simple as I have described,"

"But,"

"But, unfortunately theories can be misleading." She seemed to sincerely regret that. "This particular kind of spell works perfectly with the original user's energy, but I am not the original user."

Siegfried understood what she meant. "Link was."

"Correct. That means I would have to use my own energy to follow _his_ path. It would be like me following his tracks in a forest, instead of following the original marked trail."

It was like an off telling of Hansel and Gretel. One where there was no certainty of a happily ever after. Still, "That doesn't sound too bad."

"It's secondary following. The paths that lead to the other mediums might fade as we're following them. If we don't work quickly enough, it'll recognize me as an intruder on our hero's spell, and the trail will disappear altogether."

Siegfried could have chopped down the entire swamp. What else could have possibly gone wrong in his life? All he needed now was to self combust and his misery would be complete. "How fast can we move?"

"Not nearly fast enough." Mitsurugi replied. "The transportation for this world is slow."

"They're all we've got."

"We need something else."

Siegfried ran his jittery hand through his hair. At this rate, the rapid beating of his heart would soon prove to be fatal. "What else can we possibly do? Times running out already, and we've barely just gotten started."

"I know, I know."

Now both men were gripping their hair tightly in their hands, trying to force their minds to concentrate on something other than their rising panic. The only thing they could focus on, however, was an internal clock that kept ticking away. It kept reminding them that with every passing second they could not come up with a solution, the problem further shattered into a mess that they could not fix. They could not even begin concocting a plan. In fact the only thing they were concocting was a headache.

"Perhaps," Zelda interrupted gently. "There _is_ something I can do."

In an instant, all eyes were on her.

"Are you two familiar with the three magic gifts our hero was given by the goddesses back in our world?"

Sadly, Siegfried only knew of two. "Din's Fire and Nayru's Love." Those two spells had been of great help during Link's travels in this world. Din's Fire had been great as an offensive maneuver while Nayru's Love had worked wonders for the group's defense. Siegfried knew of a third spell, but Link had never seen fit to use it in front of him.

"There was another." Mitsurugi added.

The elf had only used it once, and only because Siegfried had contracted a virus that could have proven fatal. The medicine needed to treat it had been one town over, a six day roundtrip from their location at the time, and Siegfried had been in no condition to travel. Link had created half of some kind of portal he later used to get back to camp just in time to administer the medicine to the bedridden knight.

"Farore's Wind." But as far as the samurai knew, that spell only worked on a one-way basis.

"As you may know, Farore's Wind creates warp points our hero used to get in and out of temples during his travels. Using those warp points, he could escape from or travel to areas he had already planted other warp points on."

"Yes, but," How he hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially when poor Siegfried was just starting to look hopeful. "That only works for a one way trip, and only helps if you've been to that spot beforehand. How could that spell do us any good in this situation?"

"These medallions were given out amongst the people of this world, correct?"

"That's right. Seven of us have them."

"Well, each has a piece of our hero's magic signature embedded inside them. That is to say, they have a small portion of his magic abilities hidden inside, all his past capabilities, including Farore's Wind."

The men nodded.

"It would not be too much of a stretch to say that these medallions hold enough magic to be constituted as an already made warp point of Farore's wind."

"Go on."

"If we assume that much, then theoretically all we have to do is create a second warp point from where we stand while holding onto the one we already posses. Then the nearest medallion should pull us towards it, as well as the person who holds it."

Siegfried nodded. "It sounds a little too good to be true."

Mitsurugi agreed wholeheartedly. "What are the possible down sides to this?"

"Many, I'm afraid." Zelda murmured. "The first of which being that this theory of ours might not even work to begin with. After all, just because it can, does not mean it will."

Siegfried knew that all too well. A lot of things in his world could have been something better, something more than the tragedy it turned out to be. However, life was a being all its own with a sick, twisted sense of humor. Things that could have been often were not simply because life thought it was amusing to see people crumble.

"Then, even if it does manage to work, the portal might not let us travel the entire distance needed to journey to the next warp point. It could recognize us as intruders on our hero's spell at any time."

"Not to mention," Mitsurugi added. "That this type of spell could very well kill us." He could see it now. The three of them, five if he counted their nonhuman companions, would stand. They would be absolutely ecstatic when the princess finally managed to summon up the strength to perform the spell. A bright light would surround them, giving them false hope of a safe journey to their next destination. And then it would all come crashing down. They would either end up in the same spot they had been at mere seconds before, be dropped out of the warp hole prematurely in some godforsaken wasteland, or be torn to shreds by a magic tunnel that knew that they were not the elf who created it.

Mitsurugi turned to Siegfried, and the princess did as well. Epona lifted her head from the ground to look at the knight, as did the small fairy resting on her saddle. The German avoided their eyes. He knew what they were all silently implying. This journey had begun with him, and it would no doubt end with him. He alone could decide what to do next. He alone would bear the responsibility of every outcome on this unwanted adventure. This could only be on his conscious.

"Perform the spell." He straightened his back, kept his head held high, and walked to the area where Epona lay. Using firm yet gentle tones he eased her up until she stood stably on all fours. He then placed Navi on his shoulder, stroking her wings a bit to ease the tension he felt when he took hold of her. He did not want an argument, and for some reason it felt comforting having the small creature with him.

"Are you sure?" Mitsurugi asked. "This is really the path you want to take?"

"Absolutely." Not.

Siegfried had many doubts about taking this particular course of action. It was too risky and far too uncertain for his tastes. If he had his way, the group would be following a much more certain path. But the fact of the matter was that there was simply not enough time to think about every little thing that could go wrong. The more indecisive he was, the longer it took to alleviate Link's suffering. The thought of such a thing was more than enough to convince him to take the risk.

"Will you try?" He asked, turning to face Zelda. She had said that the spell was possible to perform. She never said she would do it. She would agree to it though. Siegfried had learned that by now, when it came to Link, the girl was willing to do just about anything.

Just as he expected, Zelda ushered them all to come closer to her. Siegfried took hold of Epona's reins and Mitsurugi placed a hand on his shoulder, his other hand holding tightly onto his medallion. Zelda took a long deep breathe. She then opened her eyes, a soft glow now showing on her right hand. Her arms extended to her sides. Then she swiftly spun around in a circle, letting an almost transparent yellow ribbon expand until it circled the entire group. Siegfried took notice of the colorful energy spreading along with the ribbon. It was green. The same green that reminded him so much of the person closest to his heart.

'_Link,'_

That was the last coherent thought he could muster. The second the name left its echo in his head, he was surrounded an extremely warm sensation. At first he thought he was just feeling a bit hot due to the effects of the spell. However that thought soon left his mind when his blood began to burn him from the inside of his body. If he had to describe the feeling, he would have said it felt like boiling water was just bursting through his veins, scorching the walls and muscles in his body all in one rapid motion. It was actually _painful_ in a sense he had never thought possible.

In a mere blink of an eye the sensation was gone, replaced by a feeling so foreign to him he was not able to name it. It started with his feet. The desire to run was there, and he thought he may have taken a step to try and escape the portal Zelda had put him in. But then he could not feel his feet. They were not numb, or even asleep. It was almost as if they just weren't there. A sick feeling settled in the knight's stomach. Alarm was dying to be heard out by someone, and it finally got its chance in the slight gasp that left Siegfried's mouth when his stomach seemed to disappear from his sensory radar as well. Then his arms went, and his panic only increased.

His eyes had not closed since Zelda first performed Farore's Wind. Yet they could see nothing more than an intensely bright white light. The comforting green he had seen earlier was gone. The sight before him now was far from soothing. So intense was its almost ominous presence, that Siegfried felt his eyes were melting just by looking at it. And then suddenly, there was nothing but a cooling darkness filtering through his gaze.

* * *

When he came back to a decent consciousness, he realized that there were voices around him. They sounded a bit distant at first, as though they were calling out to him from across entire oceans. It was hard to make out their intent. He knew they were calling to him, at the very least they were calling out his name.

"Siegfried!" One called out to him. "I'm telling you right now to get the hell up!"

"If this is a joke," A softer voice said. "Then you will surely regret it once this charade is over."

He had the strongest desire to scoff at that.

"Shaking him will do you no good." Was he being shaken? This voice was different from the first two. Where the hell was he? "In fact it will only make things worse."

"Is he going to be alright papa?" That one sounded like a little girl.

The voices were starting to become more recognizable in terms of gender and age. Now if he could just figure out where he was and just who these people were, he might be able to relax a little bit.

"He'll be alright Amy," Amy? "He just blacked out for a bit."

An earlier voice returned. "I still don't see what happened. I'm fine, and the girl only has minor discomforts."

"I suppose he took it harder." Took what harder?

"Siegfried Schtauffen, wake up!"

"It would help if you didn't scream at me!" He finally managed to open his eyes and glare at the female figure who had shouted at him.

Slowly his blurred sight began to focus on the figures hovering over him. The recognition took longer. The first two were most obviously Mitsurugi and Zelda. The other two were a pair of friends he had not seen in years. Two people who had been important to him at one point, the ones who used to house the entire party in their mansion when the fight for Soul Edge left everyone feeling weary.

The older of the two smiled softly. "Welcome back Siegfried." The girl beside him waved shyly.

Siegfried could not help the smile. "Raphael, Amy, good to see you."

Amy giggled and Raphael nodded in approval. "How are you feeling?"

The German took note of his condition. He wasn't feeling particularly bad. A little tired, sure, but still able to function. He sat up, on what seemed to be a couch of some sort, and flung his legs over the edge. He stood without any trouble and stretched out the muscles in his arms. There was no sign of any of the sensations that had caused him to pass out.

"Fine." He said finally. "Where are we?"

Raphael smirked. "My sitting room. The lot of you was passed out on my front lawn this morning. I had to drag you all in here and wait for you to wake up."

"Morning?" How long had he been asleep?

"You were asleep for the better part of the day. It's close to dusk now." Raphael said in response to the German's unasked question. "The other two woke up within the hour."

Siegfried ran a hand through his hair. Then, realization hit him as he turned to glance around the entirety of the room, and its occupants. He felt a relieved when he saw Navi perched over Zelda's shoulder. He also took notice that the princess was not disguised. The cloak that had hidden her appearance must have been destroyed during the spell.

"Where's Epona?"

"In the stable." Raphael pointed over his shoulder to an open door, setting sunlight gleaming in. "Amy took her in while I took care of all of you."

"Was she okay?"

"Was a bit panicked at first, but relaxed when she saw Amy."

Siegfried was glad to hear that. "She must remember her."

Raphael nodded. "Now that that's settled, care to tell me exactly what you all are doing here? And just why you showed up in such a dramatic fashion?"

The room instantly became silent.

"Don't all of you rush in at once now."

Siegfried turned to Mitsurugi, who motioned for him and Zelda to come closer to him. When the group was huddled together, far enough from Raphael's earshot, Siegfried posed the question, "What do we do?"

Mitsurugi shook his head. "We can't dance around it. We have to tell him."

"He will _kill_ her." Siegfried none too gently reminded. "He will not take it very well."

"Then we have to break the news to him gently."

"Then he will break her neck gently." Siegfried was honestly concerned about this. Raphael was not a cruel person, but he was as vengeful as any man Siegfried had ever known. They could not risk losing Zelda. None when she had suddenly become of some decent use to them.

"She can't be in the room when we tell him." Mitsurugi said at last. "It will only make things worse."

Siegfried turned to Zelda. "I'll tell him to give you a room you can stay in for the night. You can see him tomorrow when he's had time to process the story."

"Very well."

"Navi," He said turning to the fairy. "You go along with her. Keep her safe if you can."

"Roger."

"I'll tell Raphael." Mitsurugi said firmly.

Siegfried was relieved, but he still felt the need to ask. "Are you sure?" The blonde could be a handful when intense emotions were concerned. This was not going to be easy.

"Better me than you. If anything you two will fuel the others rage." He had a point. "So I'll take him, while you explain all of this to Amy."

Wait, "What?" That was where Siegfried drew the line. He was not good with children. He had never been, even when he himself was a child. They saw him, and nine times out of ten they tended to run away crying. "That won't work well. I'm no good with kids."

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow. "You were fine with Sophitia's children."

"No offense to their mother, but those two are not exactly normal."

"And Amy is any better?"

Zelda fiddled with the hems of her gloves. "Should I-"

"No!" The two men said firmly, after which they quickly turned back to the other.

"Siegfried, you have to be the one to tell her. There is absolutely no room for discussion."

"I'll screw this up and just end up making her cry. I know I will."

"It's better than the alternative. If you and Raphael are in the same room, you'll just end up feeding each other's anger and the girl will be dead before morning."

Siegfried found that he could not argue with that. Not only was it dead on as far as accuracy went, but it had been one of the reasons why he had wanted to avoid direct questioning from the Sorel. "Fine." He sighed. "You win."

From there the group dispersed as casually as they could manage. Raphael gave Siegfried directions to a room Zelda could use for the night, after which he and Mitsurugi retired to the mansions study. Siegfried did his best to avoid Amy's gaze as he saw the princess off to bed. Zelda might have tried to reassure him, but all it managed to do was tick him off. He had yelled at her, saying she should not feel the need to see to him. She had not done so before, and she should feel no qualms about not doing so now. He then continued to avoid Amy's questioning eyes as he silently followed her to the stable where Epona waited. He all but ran to the horse when she picked up her head up to look at him.

"Hey girl." Siegfried ran his hand along Epona's mane. The white hair had been stained brown from their earlier encounter that day, and various pieces of foliage also wedged their way into the now tangled hair. He knew she must have felt miserable being dirty for so long. "We'll have to get you cleaned up properly tomorrow." He said softly. "You can't like being this messy."

Epona quickly shook her head.

Siegfried chuckled. He began unfastening her saddle, which he knew must have been about as dirty as she was. It could not have been very comfortable to wear. Dried dirt and still moistened grass did not feel all that good against bare skin.

Amy stood patiently at the door of the stall. A light smile graced her features as she watched Siegfried move this way and that to tend to Epona's needs. The horse seemed flattered by his ever vigilant attention.

"She likes you."

Siegfried smiled. "I should hope so." He ran a hand down Epona's mane. "I like her a lot as well."

Epona blew a small puff of air into the knight's hand. A sign of affection she liked to use when someone was particularly kind to her.

"Does she let you ride her all the time?"

"I don't know. I haven't asked." He turned to Epona with a serious expression on his face. "If the situation calls for it, would do the honor of allowing me to ride on your back?"

Epona took a moment to ponder the question before nodding slowly.

Amy laughed lightly. "That was polite of you."

Siegfried shrugged as he ran his fingers through the horse's hair, trying to dislodge the twigs still within it.

"You take very good care of her."

He hummed lightly in response.

"Almost as good as Link used to."

Siegfried's hand froze instinctively. 'Uh-oh.'

"Where's Link, Siegfried?"

* * *

"So, I see Siegfried has the girl on a tight leash."

The blonde was in a very happy mood. It was never too apparent by looking at the man. He always smiled, and more often than not it was fabricated. As was his cheerful demeanor. However, this was honest amusement. The samurai could tell by the jubilant way he poured the wine, no doubt the best of its kind, into two very expensive looking wine glasses that really did not have to be used for this occasion. He kept one for himself, and then handed the other to the samurai. He then sat down in the chair opposite of his friend with a content smile on his face, glass swaying slightly in his hand.

"I wasn't aware he'd found a pet."

Mitsurugi fought down the urge to laugh. It was amazing how accurate Raphael could be about the situation between Siegfried and Zelda, even though he had only watched them interact for a few short moments. "Interesting take on their relationship."

"It seems to fit." It would seem that way to him. He was a man who at times felt no qualms about seeing people as others possessions. "So, what brings you all here? I can't imagine it simply being because you wanted to see me."

Had Siegfried been there, he would have been surprised to discover that the comment was more of a blow towards Mitsurugi than anybody else. The samurai had been less than inclined to revisit his old traveling companions once they had all gone their separate ways. He would have liked to say it was because he had had no time to do so, but the truth was that he had just been selfish. It hurt to see the group so incomplete. If he could not see them all, he did not want to see any of them at all. Thoughtless perhaps, but that seemed to be a common trait amongst the old friends.

"I wish I could say you were wrong. Unfortunately the situation is much more urgent than that."

Raphael took the words in stride. The meaning of the word 'urgent' had always been different for the self proclaimed father and son. "Oh? Is something wrong?"

"Very."

"Then do tell." The Frenchman took a leisurely sip from his glass. "You know how much I love a good story."

Mitsurugi knew that all too well. However he was in no mood to start story telling about Link's unfortunate circumstances. That would be too risky. Unless he took the proper precautions, then the blonde in front of him would not take the news well. He would be distraught, upset, and most likely very, very angry. He would then clearly take his frustrations out on the person responsible for it. Zelda.

That girl may have been somewhat to blame, but she was also part of the solution. If she was killed or harmed now, so early in the game, then the small bit of hope they had for retrieving Link was all but gone. No. To tell Raphael of that had transpired so easily was too much of a gamble. A gamble that Mitsurugi was not too sure he would win.

Certain measures had to be taken. "I need you to do something for me first."

"Which is?"

Mitsurugi held out his hand. "Give me Rapier."

This caused Raphael to blink. "You can't be serious."

The samurai did not retract his hand. "Deathly."

"Do you think I will kill you for this news?"

"I think this information may lead you to that extreme, yes."

The response had drawn Raphael's attention. The man was by no means an exceptionally violent kind of man. He would admit to being a bit of a snob at some points in his life, but he was a human being. He did not kill mindlessly, or without a valid reason. Granted, his emotional health had taken a slight turn for the worst after his adopted little brother's departure. Yes it had been something new to him, losing someone in such a permanent way without the obstacle of death. Yes he had taken it a bit harder than he should have. And yes that departure may have made his emotions run loose a bit more than they used to.

But Mitsurugi had never seen fit to make mention of that before. It had not mattered. The damage was not so great that it had to be constantly watched and monitored. Raphael was a grown man after all. If there was a problem, he could decipher it and take care of it himself. His emotions had not robbed him of common sense. So for the swordsman to make reference to it, even in the slightest, now of all times…

"I take it this conversation will go no further until I do?"

"Perceptive as always."

A part of Raphael wanted to refuse. His sword was almost like another child to him. It never left his side until, or unless, it was absolutely necessary. He loathed to hand it over so easily without knowing what kind of information he would get in return.

"I better get this back." But his curiosity got the better of him, forcing his body to comply with the samurai's request before his mind could think of arguing.

Mitsurugi could not help but feel relieved when the hilt was passed into his waiting palm. At least half of the hard part had been taken care of. "Write down where the girl's room is."

"Siegfried knows where it is."

"Well now **I** need to know."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Planning to pay her a visit later on?"

Years of training his face to remain calm at all times, even as his emotions ran rampant, was about the only thing that kept the disgust from showing. "Funny. Now write down the directions."

"Why can't I just tell you?"

"I'll need something concrete to prove that the directions you gave were in fact the correct way to her room. If I have written directions I can, immediately after our conversation, go check in on the room to see if you were telling me the truth."

"Oh for heavens-" Raphael managed to bite his tongue before anything else could pass through his lips. He needed to remember who he was talking too. Mitsurugi had never been one for disrespect. Now that he had Rapier with him, he could very well show the Frenchman what he did to those who chose to mouth off to him. Raphael may have been frustrated with the situation at hand, and he would go far enough as to say that he thought it was all ridiculous, but he knew better than to place himself into a position to receive bodily harm.

"Is this really necessary?" He settled on asking.

"Extremely."

He had half a mind to refuse. "It's Yunseong's old room. The one he would always claim when the group spent the night here."

Mitsurugi had that location stored away within his memories. He knew precisely where it was. That was quite a good sign. "You'll notice that she looks somewhat like Link."

"The ears yes. Everything else is but a superficial resemblance."

The samurai could not help but smile. Raphael had a high opinion of Link. Absolutely no one could compare, and it was doubtful that anyone ever would. Even if Link were to suddenly appear side by side of a carbon copy of himself, Raphael would still be able to tell the difference.

"Well those ears are the proof that tells us she came from the same country he did."

"I had gathered that from the triangle on her dress." The triforce. It was a symbol that had yet to ever be recorded in this world. It was doubtful that anyone who was not part of Hyrule would be caught wearing a replicate of it.

"You'll also notice that the horse she arrived on was Link's."

"I gathered that from the way she greeted Amy." The horse honestly had a better memory that Raphael did.

"You've no doubt realized that Link is not actually here."

"I figured that much from his lack of presence."

"There's a reason for that."

Raphael rolled his eyes. "You don't say. Look, I don't mean to rush this riveting prologue, but can we get to the point?"

Mitsurugi too rolled his eyes, and then settled himself down for the somber tale.

* * *

"Where's Link, Siegfried?"

The German did not want to do this. It had been hard enough explaining the situation the first time around and that had been with the aid of a large amount of alcohol and the knowledge that he would forget it all in the morning. Not to mention the fact that the first time he had uttered this tale, it had been to a full grown man. Mitsurugi was able to take hard news fairly well. He had hardened himself over the years of difficult sword training and harsh encounters with reality. He had seen enough, knew enough of hardship, that he could handle everything Siegfried had thrown at him.

Amy was different. She was still very much a child, both in mind and at heart. Sure she may have seen death littering the streets where she came from, but those victims had been empty faces. They had been meaningless tragedies that she had had nothing to do with. As such she had never needed to feel much of anything for the tormented.

Now it was different. Amy knew Link. He actually meant something to her. Like he had been for Siegfried, Link was somewhat of a savior to her. Closer to her in age than any other male in her life, he could relate to being a lost child in a world filled with adult expectations. The elf took time to listen to what she could not say, and was patient enough to wait for what she could. She grew to love him as a dear uncle.

Now Siegfried would have to inform her that her beloved uncle was fighting against a sword who had, at one point, taken possession of her. From his mouth she would hear a kind of pain she had probably only seen in her nightmares.

In a sense he was glad that he had forced Zelda to retire so early. She would have been of no help to him, and could have only pushed more grief onto a little girl who would not be able to take it. Of course, even with the princess gone, it did nothing to make his job any easier. However, at least it took the violent edge off of things.

He opened his arms slightly, and Amy came to him without question. She was probably doing it more out of instinct than actual trust for the German. Link used to open his arms to her like that. When he did, it was usually followed by him hoisting her up to sit on Epona's back. There she would turn to face him, and the two would talk. That arrangement was, after all, designed for that purpose. It was created for heart to hearts and serious discussions. A tool that the blonde used to help Amy understand a situation without causing her to panic. Like he had done in the past, Siegfried repeated the action, making sure the girl was calm before he began speaking.

"Amy," He began uncertainly. He had no idea how he was supposed to go about this. How could he explain the situation to her? He could not afford to be overly emotional unless he wanted to upset the girl, but being too withdrawn would be too cruel to her. Too serious and he risked making her cry, but if he was too nonchalant about it she would just think he was joking. That or he was teasing her to be mean. Honestly, he was not meant to see to these types of situations.

"Link is," He tried again. "Link isn't here right now." Well he certainly could have hit himself for that one. Of course the elf was not there. That was the problem. **'Never let it be said that I can't state the obvious, though.'** He thought to himself dryly.

"Where is he?"

"Back in Hyrule." Now he was subconsciously trying to avoid the subject. A part of him knew that he should just come out and say what had happened. It should not have not been all that hard to accomplish. It was just…she just kept looking at him with those eyes. Eyes that wanted to know why something so good was no longer in her reach.

"Why didn't you bring him here with you?"

"I can't do that." And wasn't that just painful to admit?

"You brought the girl."

"The truth is, Amy, she came here on her own. She brought the fairy and Epona along with her."

The redhead looked confused. She had every right to be. He was making absolutely no sense at the moment. Vague answers, hesitance to speak, hell all he was doing was making an idiot out of himself. He supposed that meant it was time to stop acting like a coward.

"Amy I want you to listen, and listen very carefully. Zelda came to this world because her kingdom was in trouble."

"Why didn't Link save it?"

He should have known she would ask him that. She knew as well as he did that Link was the go to guy for a world that needed to be rescued. He had been that type of guy in this world too.

"He tried." Siegfried said softly. "But this danger is a bit different than anything he was used to fighting in the past."

"Why?"

He fought down the urge to bite his tongue. If he did not find the guts to tell her now, he would never find the strength to do so in the future. "Soul Edge escaped from its prison." He would leave out the how. She did no need to know how. Her knowing would only complicate matters. "He devoured a very powerful being and took control of his powers in order to create a body of his own. That was the creature Link faced back in Hyrule, and right now it's keeping him held captive. Zelda came here to ask me for help. I need to rescue him from Soul Edge."

Amy started shaking her head. "No. You're wrong."

Denial. He had been afraid of running into that. "I wish I was. But I'm not lying." He wished he could say something better than that. Something to appease her, soothe her if he could.

Something passed through her eyes after a moment. A slow reluctant understanding that he realized was her way of accepting the situation. She did not want it, that much was certain, but she knew he was telling the truth. She may not have cherished Siegfried as much as she had Link, but she knew the German just as well. She would know when he was lying.

"That's not fair." She said after a moment. "Why him? He was good. Why not her? Nobody liked her."

He wished he had an answer for that. He had been asking himself that same question for a long time. Even before Link had been imprisoned, before Zelda had revealed herself to him, he had asked why. Why Link?

"I wish I knew." After a minute of silence he looked back up to Amy with a raised brow. "Why did you say that nobody likes her?" Link had never mentioned the princess around Amy, and Siegfried highly doubted that her father had said anything about her.

"I can tell." She said sadly. "The way you talk to her is mean. The way Mitsurugi looks at her is too. And papa treats her worse than how he treated Link."

He supposed he should have been nicer when he sent the girl off to bed. He then reminded himself to ask Mitsurugi about what had happened during the time he had been unconscious. Raphael seemed to take an instant dislike to the girl, for reasons the German would have to figure out later. Because of that, an encounter between the two had stirred Amy's suspicions.

"Did that monster kill him?" Amy asked him after a moment.

"No." At least he could say that with confidence. "He's still alive."

"How can you know that?" She was not asking to be cruel. She was asking to be sure. She wanted to be assured that her light had merely been shrouded in shadow, and not obliterated altogether.

"Soul Edge had a body of its own, yes," Siegfried admitted. "But it can't survive on its own. It needs Link to stay alive. If he dies than Soul Edge will get sick, and eventually it will die. It needs him. It won't risk destroying him."

She hardly looked convinced, but he knew she would take his word for it. "I…don't really understand."

The knight laughed a bit in spite of himself. "I don't quite understand it all myself."

She almost looked as though she would utter a reply. All that would come out of her mouth, however, were small choking sounds. When she reopened her mouth to try again, she was met with the same results.

Siegfried was instantly concerned. "Amy? Are you alright?"

She shook her head. Then she did something he had been dreading since he had walked into the stable. Amy dropped her head into her hands, and started to cry. In the wooden shed that had been absolutely silent mere moments ago, her cries sounded like the wails of a lost child, calling out to a mother lost and out of reach.

And Siegfried could do nothing to comfort her. Any attempts to console her would be useless. He was not the one she wanted to help her through this. The only one who would be able to wipe away her tears, was the one that she was crying for. Siegfried was not that angel.

So all he could do was stand there and wait. All the while he wished something would deafen him to her painful cries.

* * *

Mitsurugi had been right in deciding to take Rapier away from his companion. The sudden rage he was now seeing would not have been any better with a sword in hand. Raphael paced around the room angrily. Anything in his path was likely to get smacked or knocked over. The Frenchman was lucky he had money to replace everything he was breaking.

"How could you allow me to let that thing into my house?"

"Where was she supposed to stay? Outside?"

"Yes." The blonde responded bitterly. "Outside with all the other vermin running amuck in the world."

"Raphael," Came the exasperate response. "Just calm yourself for a moment and take a seat."

"Take a seat? Take a-" Raphael scoffed. He took a moment to turn around and place his hands on his hips in the perfect picture of annoyance. "You expect me to just sit down while a monster sleeps perfectly in bed as her victim, my little brother, battles torture against a damn sword!"

In a fit of rage Raphael swung his hand at the closet item in sight. What he knocked down was an expensive looking vase that gracefully shattered to pieces on the carpeted floor.

Mitsurugi sighed. "Trust me," He said soothingly. "I know how you feel. I know exactly how you feel."

"Then why are you so damn calm about this? Why aren't you doing something about it?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Mitsurugi rose from his chair. Raphael's rage was contagious. "Do you honestly think I like that girl? I nearly killed her myself when I found out."

"What stopped you then? Hm?"

"Siegfried."

Raphael skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Siegfried? That's the best excuse you could come up with?"

"How close were they?"

"Who?"

"Link and Siegfried."

Raphael scratched the back of his head. "They were best friends I suppose."

"Soul mates would be a better term to use. Those two were everything to each other. They knew each other's dreams, their secrets, and their desires. They knew each other better than they knew themselves."

"Alright so-"

"Siegfried was the first to hear of any of this. Don't you think he wanted to rip her throat out?"

"Well, yes?"

"And what does the fact that she's still alive tell you?"

"She's serving him some kind of purpose? Why the hell should I know?" Raphael had quickly gone from looking like an enraged war general to a petulant child in thirty seconds flat. It would have been the funniest sight under other circumstances.

"Exactly, she serves a purpose. She's the only way back to Link. Otherwise Siegfried would have let her die long ago."

Mitsurugi had not spoken to Siegfried about any this of course. There was no way that the knight would be so open with him about the given situation. It was not because he was not trusted, but the samurai was simply not Link. Still, he could tell. His keen instincts were not restricted to just the battle field. He knew what he said was true. Otherwise Zelda would have never made it this far.

"Don't you think this was hard on him? He was the closest to Link, and he was the most heartbroken when the boy left. If he could, he would have already found a way to get rid of her. However he was smart enough to look for a good enough reason to keep her alive, and Link was that reason."

Raphael listened somewhat intently as he walked over to one of the windows in the study. He turned his back to the samurai and instead tried to focus on the night sky outside. There was no moon tonight, and no stars bothered to make an appearance. Instead clouds blocked sight of anything that might have made the scenery beautiful to the human eye. It was a rather depressing sight actually, not unlike the current flow of conversation.

"I know you're upset." Mitsurugi said. "But try to understand. We came here to ask for your help, and without the girl it's all but useless. She needs to survive." That was really what this argument was about after all. Raphael would help for Link's sake, but that resentment inside him would hinder the journey. It could very well stop it all together if left unchecked.

"I," Raphael kept his back to the samurai. "I don't understand how this could happen. He was sick? When was that child ever sick in this world?"

"Never." Mitsurugi admitted. "But that had more to do with us than anything else. You in particular were always making sure he was in top shape." The man could not help but smile at the images that came through. "You really were like his older brother."

Raphael could not help but scoff. "Some sibling I was. I couldn't even help save the only one I had."

Mitsurugi frowned. "You had no way of saving him. He was already out of our reach by then. It was not your fault he died once before. Nor is it your fault he's in trouble now."

"Oh?" The blonde seated himself on the window sill, eyes scanning the gloom ridden sky for something he could not see. "I could have stopped him from going. I could have at least tried." Taking a deep breath he dropped his head into the palm of his hand. There he gripped his hair tightly. "That boy did so much for me. He gave me my daughter's voice, gave me back her smile, gave me back my own damn humanity, and in the end what did I do for him? Absolutely nothing. I could not even convince him to leave behind a world he didn't even like. If I did then none of this would have happened."

Mitsurugi stepped towards Raphael. He did not like the look in the other's eyes. They were too much like the darkness that used to be so prominent in his gaze. "That's not fair, placing all the blame on yourself like that."

"It certainly feels justified. I could have given him a home, a family, a better life than the empty one he had. When the time came to offer it, I was silent. I was useless to him then. What good can I possibly do for him now?"

Mitsurugi placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder and turned him around so that the two were now eye to eye. "Come with us. Link needs you now more than ever. We need you with us."

Raphael looked towards the sky again. He seemed to think long and hard about the decision he was about to make. Mitsurugi got the feeling there was more to it than just leaving to fight Soul Edge. "Amy will come as well."

"What?" Was the blonde going crazy? "She's too young. She hasn't had proper battle experience-"

"But she has had proper training." Raphael argued. "You'd be surprised just how quickly she catches on."

Mitsurugi doubted that every much. "She's merely a child. This entire experience would hurt her." She could very well be killed, and he did not very much like the sound of that.

"Then you can explain to your granddaughter why she can't journey off to find her uncle when she is more than ready enough to start a battle for his life. I'm sure she'll keep her tears to a minimum."

That sounded even less appealing. "That is hardly fair."

"Yes, well neither is bringing an animal into my home and then expecting me to let her eat at my table."

The conversation was as good as completed. Mitsurugi knew there was no longer a place for arguments. Now it was simply about acceptance. "Very well, she may come, but please, do try to at least be polite to Zelda."

"Oh sure." Raphael assured him. "I will do all I can not to offend the antichrist."

Mitsurugi felt he should just leave everything be for the moment.

* * *

MistressOfTime1218: Ta da.

DarkMist: Oh yeah this was definitely a _short _introduction to Raphael and Amy, you big liar!

K-Chan: The one I read was shorter than this!

MistressOfTime1218: I know. I got rid of it and started over. I think this one is better.

StormBlitz: It sure is more technical. But why redo?

MistressOfTime1218: This story is one of the few who actually give me real comfort while writing it. I kind of needed that since I'm here in my new college, away from you guys.

K-Chan: (Tearing up) I love you guys! (Grabs everyone for a group hug)

MistressOfTime1218: (Sweatdrop) Anyway, I'm going to be picking up the pace a bit from here. Next up the group will head on out to Greece, and Siegfried will have to come to terms with some of his feelings.

DarkMist: When is Ike going to get here?

K-Chan: And what about Roy?

StormBlitz: Why isn't Marth in there yet.

MistressOfTime1218: You guys are so impatient. Do not rush the creativity! Anyway, please R&R. I'd like to hear feedback on this chapter in particular, since I'm worried I'm starting to slip in quality.


	8. Emotion

MistressOfTime1218: Hi everyone. I know what you're thinking, but I ask you all to please put down your torches and pitchforks for just a moment. This chapter should have been out about two weeks ago. I was set and ready to post it, when exactly two Mondays ago, my father came home with some bad news. He had gotten fired, and to cut things short, his company had shot first and asked questions later, relying on people who were envious of my father for his success in the company. I was so mad (sad, upset, distraught, astounded) that this chapter was furiously rewritten and added to quite a bit. The reason I am telling you all this is because there might be some heavy emotional situations in here that may or may not make sense. I was highly emotional when I wrote them, after all. I almost did not want to post this up, but Link kept urging me on, telling me that this needed to be put out. If it is too terrible I will fix it at a later time. Just let me know.

FangOfDoubt25: You forgetting something?

MistressOfTime1218: Oh right! Hey, thanks to all of you who reviewed, faved, and alerted this story. I had almost wanted to give up on writing after my father was so unjustly treated, leaving our family in a hot spot. But Fang kindly printed out every review and email you guys have ever sent to me and presented the papers to me, saying, "Remember who you write for, and remember why you started." It is partly thanks to him that we have this lovely chapter.

FangOfDoubt25: (blushing) You said you weren't going to say anything about me!

MistressOfTime1218: Here you guys go. It's freakishly long and, I hope, fangirl/fanboy friendly. On with the story! Wait, first! Fang, the disclaimer.

FangOfDoubt25: Why do I let you do this to me? MistressOfTime1218 does not own any of the noticeable video game references and characters in this story. Though she does own the game disks, cartridges, and systems needed to play them.

* * *

Siegfried had felt her approach more than he had heard it.

His ears had been somewhat shot hours earlier, so he had unconsciously decided not to hear much of anything for a good while. Amy's cries had affected him a great deal more than he originally thought they would. They had also hurt much more than he had expected. It should have come as no real surprise.

She was a little girl. A little girl who had suffered more than enough for her short lifetime, and she did not deserve to suffer again. Not like that. Not by crying her eyes out over something she had no control of. Not by losing something so precious. The pain he caused should have hurt, and it should have hurt him as much as it did her.

"I told you to go to bed." He said to the princess he knew had entered the stables. He should have known she would not listen to his orders so easily. She would never be so cooperative.

He felt her sit beside him on the floor. "It is already morning. I have gone to bed and awoken from my slumber already. You appear to have not."

He had not been able to leave the stable. Not after what he had done to such an innocent child. He did not deserve to sleep in a proper bed. He had no right to sleep peacefully. Amy had not been able to drag herself off to her room either. Instead, after she had stopped crying, she had decided to sleep where she was. Epona, the kind creature that she was, decided to lie down and make herself a cushion for Amy's personal use. The horse hated that position, as it made her extremely uncomfortable and unable to run at a moment's notice, but she made an exception just this once.

Siegfried chose to sit opposite of the stall, silently watching from against the wall he had made himself somewhat comfortable against. That was all he had been able to do. It appeared he had been watching for far longer than he had intended to and had lost track of the time. Honestly, he had hoped he could have been able to act if Amy had woken up due to some kind of nightmare if he remained, but he was well aware that he would have been useless when it came to something like that. Link knew how to calm nightmares. Siegfried only knew how to ignore them.

"I noticed you did not see yourself to bed, nor have you gotten any decent amount of sleep."

He scoffed at her attempt at concern. Or perhaps it was real. He had no idea. Truth be told it would not have mattered much if it was, or was not, sincere. Not when it was _her_ trying to give him comfort. "What, were you looking for me outside your window?" Yunseong's old room did have a decent view of the stables. She would have been able to see him if she had been looking.

"You don't seem very up to par." He could tell she was looking at him, even though he did not turn to ensure that she was. "You usually come up with wittier responses than that."

"Don't speak like you know me so well." Had he not been so tired, he would have done something to get her to leave him alone. He did not like her beside him. It almost made him sick. "Where's Navi?" He took notice that the fairy was not with her.

"She is still asleep. I thought it best to give her a bit more rest after yesterday's ordeal."

"How very kind of you." He noted with sarcasm. How could she not understand that she was the last person he wanted near him at the moment? Was she that dense? Or did she simply not care?

"I am not a cruel person, though you seem highly convinced that I am."

He actually did turn to look at her just then. She was already staring back at him, waiting for a specific kind of response to her statement. In her eyes was a challenge. A challenge that sought out the honest reaction to what she had just said. Did she think he would lie? If she did, she would be highly disappointed.

"It is no surprise that I think lowly of you. I told you that when we met, or at the very least I implied it."

"You truly have no reason to. We have never been formally introduced. I have given you no option that says you should hate me so."

He narrowed his eyes. "You do not give me options period, because you do not get to decide what options I have. And to be clear, I don't hate you. I detest your existence." He stopped to glance at Amy. He wanted the girl to sleep throughout the entire conversation, as he felt it might turn very ugly very shortly. "Hate is a word I reserved for Soul Edge."

"Forgive me if I don't comprehend."

"I forgive you for nothing, but I will understand why you don't 'comprehend'." He wanted her to know where she stood with him. She would have no excuses later on. She would not be able to complain of how he had not made himself clear to begin with. He would say it now. "I can't ever bring myself to like you."

"Why?"

"You hurt Link." That was all the reason he needed. It was truly the only reason that mattered to him. "You were selfish, and he paid the price. You used his kind heart as a weapon to bend him to your every will over and over again. It was because of you that he could not live out his own life, and it was because of you he could never see to himself."

That was what angered him the most. Link was bound to her, whether Siegfried wanted to acknowledge that fact or not. The two had some kind of unbreakable connection that would last for eternity. It would not have been such a bad thing, had she not taken advantage of it. Had that bond not damaged Link in any way, it would have been perfectly fine. She might have also been perfectly fine in Siegfried's book as well. But because it had hurt him, that bond was toxic, and she was too.

"I blame you for everything that happened to him." He added in. The empty life, painful death, she was the cause of everything Link had gone through. And he wanted her to know that she had been the cause of it all.

Her demeanor was quick to change. Instead of arguing with him, like he was certain she would, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin atop them. It was a position not fondly recognized among royalty because it made them look like something weaker than what they wanted to appear as. He could see it now. For the first time since she had shown herself to him, she did not seem like the heir of royal blood she was intended to be. Right then Zelda just looked like a little girl. A little girl who was now standing against a man, or maybe a boy in her eyes, who was making her take responsibility for what she had done.

"It was not my intention to make him suffer."

"It doesn't matter what your intentions were. The fact still remains that he is suffering because of you."

She tightened the grip on her legs. "Please try to understand me."

He scoffed. "I highly doubt that I would ever be able to understand the likes of you." He did even not want to try. He was lost as to why she wanted his understanding so desperately anyway. It would change nothing. Even if he were to have it, he would still think of her as a monster, and she would still see him as evil.

"Then at least listen as I explain myself. Please?"

He was honestly surprised. Zelda had never asked anything of him before. He never thought he would hear such a thing. Asking implied some kind of need. Needing implied the power of the party one was asking something from. She would never, in any of her lifetimes, give him the impression that she needed him, or that he held any kind of power over her. All she had ever barked out were orders whose proper purpose were to give _her_ control. The fact that she was asking for something now, meant that she was giving _him_ some of the power and control she had tried so hard to hang onto.

"You can explain." He said. "But I give you no guarantee that I will accept any excuses." That was all she would give him. He would bet money on it.

She let loose a hollow little laugh. It seemed oddly twisted to him as he took a moment to think about that gesture, and other actions like it. The two of them were not friends, not by any means, yet they had laughed and smiled at one another numerous times. Those little gestures were reserved for people of the heart. Friends, family, lovers, those people were all given such affectionate tokens of fondness.

Instead of using them as they should, however, the two of them had used those smiles and that laughter as a way to show the contempt and bitterness between them. Was it always his lot in life to turn beauty into ash? Was it hers as well?

"You can't begin to imagine how hard it is to be a reincarnate." She began solemnly. "It is a cycle of never-ending exhaustion. You die, and instead of finally resting in peace, you awake. You rise to find yourself alive, having been denied the release of death once more, yet again placed with the burden of every past memory. You see absolutely everything your past life was used for. The mistakes you made, the plans that fell through when you died, the causes that you did nothing to aid though you tried so hard."

She was not talking about Link. Siegfried knew that she could not have possibly been speaking on behalf of that wonderful hero. He knew everything that Link did was a positive contribution to his lands history. He had made no mistakes. But he knew she had.

"It was difficult. During my first few lives I laid witness to the outcomes of past rulings. There were many disappointments. Changes I had involuntarily forced to be made, stagnant issues that I could not see fixed, innocent people I had persecuted for the wrong reasons. I could never see those mistakes during my current time at the throne. It was only after they had been carried out through time, during every new life, that I saw if I was truly a good queen, or if I was a failure who only made it worse for those after her."

Siegfried wondered if Link had to bear witness to such things as well. It could not have been easy, seeing the full effects of what you had done in the past. Siegfried had experienced something similar after his escape from Nightmare, but it could not possibly have compared to what the elf must have gone through. For one thing, it had never really been Siegfried who had caused such monstrous feats of damage, so none of it had ever been his fault. Everything Link had done would be his responsibility to bear later on. That was a lot of pressure to withstand, and Link was a much softer soul than Siegfried was. The younger blonde might have taken seeing the consequences of his life much harder than his friend would have, even if the events that transpired because of it were not of his own doing.

"I was quick to learn that there was no perfect way to rule. What worked during one lifetime was not guaranteed to work in the next. Trying to force a good outcome would end in disaster. Every life was spent trying desperately to live up to the last. I, at one point, spent days on end looking at portraits of _myself_ from the past, wondering if I was any different from what was on that canvas in my people's eyes. It was ridiculous to me, trying to outdo myself time and time again."

Siegfried furrowed his brows. When Link had first told him of what he was, the knight had been somewhat envious. To be constantly reborn into new times, to see the bounty brought upon by your own efforts, it had all sounded like such a blessing. Maybe it had been nothing more than a curse wrapped up in deceiving packaging. To create an image you had to live up to constantly. It must have been exhausting. How did Link feel trying to live up to his own reputation again and again and again? Did he feel like he had to travel down that same path, trapped in a never ending cycle of life?

"Sometimes I forgot that I was not the same person I once was. Not to the people around me. There were times when I would come upon a familiar face. They would perhaps be the descendant of a past friend, or perhaps an acquaintance's reincarnation."

"What's the difference between that and a reincarnate?" Siegfried found himself asking. Link had told him once that the two types of people were different, though not by much of a defining factor. Siegfried had wanted to ask why, but simply admitting that a line between the two words existed seemed to physically pain the young blonde. So Siegfried had bitten his tongue and left the matter alone.

"A reincarnate is basically the same as someone's reincarnation. Both are the rebirth of someone who has died. The difference comes into play when the true definitions of the words are made clear. It is hard to fully understand the meanings in this language, but in Hylian the terms are vastly different."

"Like?" He hated the thought of being so ignorant when it came to this topic. This had been a crucial part of Link's life, or lives, and Siegfried could hardly believe he had never truly tried to understand it until now.

"In the Hylian language, the word used for reincarnation means a person whose soul has been taken from the grave and placed into a new body similar to the one it had before. Only the soul, understand. The word used for reincarnate, while very similar, has an entirely different criterion. Reincarnates have their entire being brought along for the rebirthing process. Memories, likes and dislikes, abilities, every single thing that made that person who they were the first time, is carried on into their next life."

That had to be painful, the knight found himself thinking. For you to stay the same while others around you changed with the passing of time. For the faces you once treasured so dearly to suddenly look at you as though you had never existed. For those same individuals to then spare not even a passing glance when the two of you encountered each other again.

Was that why Link had been so wonderful to the people of this world, even when they were horrible to him? Had a desperate sort of kindness been trying to make itself remembered? Just this once?

Was that why Link had been so desperate to free Siegfried?

"There was nothing stable in my life. I found myself grabbing hold of anything that could have provided me with some reassurance. Someone whose life I could truly impact."

Was that why the two of them had gotten so close?

"I wanted to know I was precious to someone again, just as they were to me. I wanted **my** life, not my family name or past titles, to mean something to another. I wanted my life to, perhaps, be loved far beyond the limitations of time."

Had Link been trying to find someone who would keep him in memory? Link the person, not Link the legend. Not the Hero of Time, not the Hero of Twilight, not the hero of anything. Just Link, the boy who had a kind heart and a simple longing for companionship that was truly once in a lifetime.

"I myself never found that one person I was seeking so much. Not a normal existing human being anyway."

Siegfried suddenly felt his stomach turn. His throat chose then and there to close up with halted breath. Something was hitting him hard.

"I think our hero did."

The German had to stand just then. Sitting down was just making him restless. He was dizzy when he finally stood on both feet. He felt sick, sick with a sudden, cruel realization.

He could have asked. Two years ago he could have asked Link to stay. He could have asked and Link would have agreed. Link would have said yes, simply because he could not have said no. Not to Siegfried, because Siegfried was the first person who had ever truly seen Link for something more than just a title, something more than what the elf had been in the past. Siegfried had been that one person whose life had truly been saved with the simple kindness of a simple human heart. And Siegfried had been the only one to appreciate it and reciprocate Link's desire for companionship.

Link had clung to that. Siegfried had never seen it before, but Link had clung to the knight's desire to have the elf remain by his side. Link would have done just about anything to keep the knight happy, including, but not limited to, remaining in a world he did not belong in.

Since Siegfried had said nothing, Link must have assumed that the knight would be happier without him.

"Are you alright?"

Siegfried placed a hand over his mouth. He stomach felt an almost dire need to purge itself of every piece of food he had ingested for the last three months. His heart, meanwhile, started roughly beating gruelingly against his ribcage, almost as though it were trying to kill him. Almost as though it wanted to punish him for his lack of proper attention pertaining to someone who was so dear to it.

"You don't look so good."

"Shut up." He spat harshly. He did not want her talking. Her voice would only make him worse.

She sighed. "I did not mean to make you upset." What the hell did she think she was doing then? "I only wanted you to understand."

"I already told you," He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I won't ever understand you."

"It was not me as a person I wanted you understand." She said firmly, as though she had just reached a final decision on some kind of large conflict. "I merely wanted you to understand why I won't let him go."

Siegfried turned his head so quickly he nearly spun it right off his neck. Zelda was already staring back at him. She looked determined, facing him with nothing less absolute resolution in her eyes. He could only stare back at her in disbelief.

"What did you say?" No, there was no possible way she had just implied that she...that was just… "You can't be serious."

"You can't begin to comprehend what it's been like for me. I have lived countless lives where my name is the only thing to remain the same." She stood up then, trying to seem somewhat intimidating to the man in front of her. "He has been the only constant throughout my existence. I will not relinquish him."

His hands were twitching, itching to grab hold of the princess' throat. After everything was said and done, this girl intended to rescue Link from one imprisonment and put him right back into another. "You sick, selfish brat." He growled out. "Stand down already. You've taken everything away from him. He's been alone for lifetimes because of you! Let him go!"

"Why, so you can have him?"

He could not let loose an answer for a split second. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She laughed at him. "Oh don't play coy with me." She smiled condescendingly. "The reason you want me to 'set him free' is so that you can capture him yourself."

He really just wanted to slap her. "Don't be a fool."

"Who's the foolish one? Since I've been here all you've done is talk about our hero as though you were a young girl who has just laid eyes on her first crush." She narrowed her eyes. "To see you act so infatuated whenever you say his name is disgusting."

"Watch what you say to me."

He had not noticed how close the two of them had gotten since their argument began. Nor had he realized how each of them had subtlety reached for a nearby weapon the longer they stared each other down. His hand had just found its way to the hilt of his sword when he took notice of it. By then he hardly cared. All he wanted to pay attention to was the red taking over his line of sight.

"Siegfried?" A young voice called out to him.

Siegfried sincerely believed that Zelda owed Amy her life. Had it not been for the young redhead, Zelda would have found herself with a slit throat. As it were, the knight found that he had more important things to tend to than finishing the brat off.

He swiftly turned away and walked over to where Amy lay. "You alright Amy?"

She nodded tiredly. Yawning softly, she pushed herself up from the ground. "What time is it?"

Siegfried looked towards the crack in doorway. Sunlight was quickly gaining control of the land below it. "Probably time for breakfast."

Amy nodded. "I'm hungry then."

Siegfried smiled and began leading her out of the stable. Amy bounded out of the wooden building before he could get the chance to, leaving the knight and princess alone for a few moments. They simply stared, each silently cursing the other and wishing beyond reason that looks could suddenly kill.

She said only one thing to him. "I won't let you take him."

He only responded with one promise. "I won't let you keep him."

* * *

The scene at that table could not have been any tenser had Nightmare himself waltzed in with a wedding garbed Soul Edge and an absolute intention of marriage. No one would have been any more uncomfortable than they had been to start with. In fact that disturbing scenario would have been a much more welcomed atmosphere than the one currently taking place.

The morning had gotten off on an odd note to start with, beginning with the seating at the breakfast table. As customary in the Sorel family, Amy took the head of the small table. Mitsurugi and Raphael took seats opposite of each other and waited for the knight and princess to take theirs. Siegfried had requested the seat next to Mitsurugi, leaving the spot next to Raphael for the princess.

It had confused the samurai and the Frenchman a great deal.

Last night the soldier had been adamant about keeping Raphael and Zelda as far apart from each other as humanly possible. He knew that Raphael would attempt to harm her. He knew the Frenchman's rage would get the best of him if the two nobles were not kept separated. That still rang true, and Raphael was still very willing to rip off the girl's head if given the chance. The German almost seemed like he was offering Raphael the opportunity to do so on a silver platter.

Zelda did not say a word in regards to the arrangement. She had to have known that Siegfried was putting her in the line of danger on purpose. She had to have noticed how hostile he was being, how angry he was acting in regards to her. Still, she said noting. Instead she merely asked for a particularly sharp knife to eat her breakfast with. A breakfast that did not happen to be compiled of any kind of meat or food that would require to be cut with a sharp implement. Mitsurugi was also quick to notice that Siegfried was paying very special attention to Zweihander, more so when he caught the princess's eye. Her eyes seemed to glow a menacing blue whenever she caught his in return. Something was not right.

Mitsurugi decided that he would sit next to the girl instead. Raphael would take the seat at the head of the table today, and Siegfried would sit directly opposite of Mitsurugi. If need be, the two older warriors would be able stop a lunge from the German at all the important angles should an argument occur. Mitsurugi had also chosen to place Amy next to the empty seat beside the German, he would not act violently with a child nearby, and had asked Navi to come down to the table to flutter around the princess, as she would keep herself well dignified around the fairy. He, meanwhile, instinctively went into a survival like state, wherein he was constantly monitoring every move his party made.

Raphael felt awkward with the sudden vicious tension. It was so thick that even he had a hard time swallowing in bouts of the air around him. His meal was left to be poked and prodded at, as he could not bring himself to eat it at the moment. Somewhere in the far end of his subconscious he laughed at the memory of the conversation he and Mitsurugi had shared the night before. It was the reason why he was on his absolute best behavior. He had not once said anything impolite to Zelda, though she was not giving him much of an opportunity to do so, and had even agreed to Mitsurugi assigning their seats as though they were children with no arguments whatsoever.

Zelda and Siegfried were not being very fair, though, filling the area around them with such harsh intentions. It almost made him want to unsheathed Rapier. Another part of him, the more childish portion of his mind, crudely remarked that the samurai really should have given the both of them the same speech he had been subjected to.

"So," The Frenchman said casually. "How's the food?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

The two of them had not even looked up from their plates. Raphael looked to Mitsurugi, hoping to get some sort of signal as to what that meant, only to get a shrug in response.

"I wasn't sure what you two would like. I'm afraid I forgot to ask for your preferences last night. I told my servants to just work with what they had."

"Thank you."

"Appreciate it."

The blonde was beginning to get annoyed. They could have at least had the decency to look at him when they answered. Now they were simply being rude.

"Do you need anything else? The cook is still in the kitchen if you want to ask for something."

"I'm alright."

"Don't need anything."

Raphael sighed and dropped his utensils down on his plate. He was done with being polite. If the two of them wanted to sit in such an uncomfortable silence, so be it. Never let it be said that he did not at least try to be a good host.

After a moment Amy looked up from her meal, searching for something that she soon realized was closer to Siegfried than herself. "Siegfried," Amy said gently from the knight's right. "Can you pass me some bread please?"

Siegfried tried to smile at the girl as his hand reached out for the bread basket. His was met with the gloved palm attached to the Hylian princess, and the two locked eyes in a heated exchanged. They looked as though they wanted to rip the others hand right off.

It was she who made the first move. "Excuse me." She quickly clutched on tightly to one side of the basket.

Siegfried narrowed his eyes and hung on to the other. "You're excused."

She tried to tug the basket over to her side. Siegfried made sure she was not able to do so.

Zelda glared at him. "If you don't mind." She tugged on the basket.

Siegfried did the same. "And if I do?"

Mitsurugi could hardly believe what he was seeing. He looked to Raphael for some sort of confirmation, some kind of sign that he was not in fact witnessing two grown adults fighting over food. They could not really be playing tug of war with a mere bread basket. Raphael only shook his head in response. He could not make much sense of it either.

Amy pouted when she realized that the basket had yet to find itself one person to move with. "I want bread."

"You heard her." Siegfried said a bit too politely for anyone's taste. "The girl wants bread."

"I think she can wait a moment or two."

"Could you handle depriving her the food she desires?"

"I think I could very well live with myself."

Siegfried huffed. "I should have assumed. After all, it isn't the first time you've selfishly denied a young innocent something they've deserved."

Her eyes narrowed almost dangerously and she slapped the basket out of his hand. She looked at him menacingly, a warning of attack now at full attention. Siegfried merely looked to where the food had landed on the floor. He tisked and returned to his own meal as though he were not being torn apart by the princess's stare.

"That was mature of you." He '_gently' _admonished. "What a waste of food."

She cursed at him. She very, very harshly cursed at Siegfried's entire existence. She went after everything. His name, his family honor, anything he stood for was under the fire of one very bitter royal tongue. She took quite a risk in doing so. With the way the two were interacting with one another, Siegfried was likely to cut her mouth right off for a stunt like that. She probably thought she could get away with saying such things because she was speaking in her own tongue, a langue that not many people of this world had ever come into contact with. Hylian.

Siegfried, however, was not one of the many people of his world who were ignorant to the Hylian language. He knew what she was saying, or at the very least he could translate a few words. Link had somewhat inadvertently taught them to him. The boy was not foul mouthed, but things did tend to slip every now and again when one was hurt or angry. Siegfried knew what she was saying, so he launched into his own angry tirade about just what he thought the princess amounted to. His words were much harsher than hers, and he decided to even out the playing field by screaming it all in German.

She could only look back in astonishment. She had absolutely no idea what he was saying, but she knew it could not have possibly been anything good. Especially not with the pure fury and emotion put behind every word. Such emotional intent towards her could only signify malicious intentions.

The two of them carried on insulting each other in their own respective languages. After about five minutes, Mitsurugi, in complete disbelief and annoyance, lost his calm and started ordering the two of them to stop whatever twisted game they were playing, in Japanese. Raphael chimed in moments later about how ridiculous the lot of them were being, in a perfect French tongue.

Amy sighed. She realized now that she would have to forgo the usual bread and jam portion of her meal. As the adults in the room continued to argue in multi languages, she reached over and took a few uneaten pieces of fruit from Zelda's plate and put them on to her own. She then took hold of Siegfried's untouched glass of orange juice and took a dainty, little sip. What she took would not be missed. The ones they belonged to would not be in any mood to enjoy them for some time.

Meanwhile Amy decided to indulge in the show that was accompanying her breakfast. It would not last much longer. The silly grownups in the room would come to realize that soon. After all, how could anyone keep an interest in an argument if no one knew what the other was saying?

Just like clockwork, Mitsurugi stood up and slammed his hands against the top of the table. All chattering ceased at once.

"You!" He screamed at Siegfried. "And you!" He said to Zelda. "Both of you come with me. Now."

The two stood without looking at one another, and followed Mitsurugi's lead into a nearby, presumably empty, room. Raphael followed seconds later, mumbling something about how he refused to be left out of the conversation.

Amy was left alone with a very confused blue fairy who had not completely understood exactly what had just transpired, or what was to occur. A part of her felt she should follow the princess, just in case the girl's life was in danger. The other part wanted to remain where she was to guarantee her own safety.

"Do you want something to eat, little fairy?" Amy asked, holding up a small strawberry.

Navi decided it might be best to stay put. This argument was none of her business. "Sure."

* * *

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" Mitsurugi demanded once the group was out of the dining hall, and in what was assumed to be a second study on the first floor of the Sorel mansion. "Arguing over food as though it was the last damn loaf of bread in the entire world! Disgusting."

Zelda and Siegfried were quick to point an accusing finger at the other.

"He/She started it!" They shouted in unison, glaring at the other once they realized what was said. "It was not my fault!" They said, again, in unison. "Yes it was!"

"Enough!" Now the samurai was starting to get seriously agitated. If the two of them did not stop bickering soon, he was going to start hacking away at something. "The two of you are acting like children. Do us all a favor and start acting your age."

"Yeah grandma," Siegfried muttered. "Start acting your own age." That, admittedly, was a bit of a low blow. Insulting a woman by means of her age was a universal taboo. It was also a bit uncalled for, seeing as Zelda was still young in this lifetime. However, when he thought about it, she was technically probably hundreds of years old with all of her lifetimes combined. It was probably a fair assumption to think her elderly.

Zelda did not believe it was fair at all. "You insolent-"

"What did I just say?" Mitsurugi interrupted. Honestly, were these two even listening to a word he was saying? "What is going on with you two?"

"What, are we acting unusual?" Siegfried sounded so innocent it was almost eerie. "Are we normally so happy with each other that this sort of behavior is baffling to you?"

Raphael had to hold back a laugh. "He has a point there."

Mitsurugi glared at him. Raphael responded by holding up his hands in surrender. "No, this is not really all that surprising, the two of you fighting. What is surprising is that what I saw out there was about to turn violent had I not intervened, and as far as I knew, we agreed nothing would ever turn that vicious."

Siegfried rolled his eyes. "It was not that bad."

"The girl had her hands glowing and you had a steak knife, which I don't understand how you got a hold of anyway, ready by the fourth bilingual insult."

Both guilty parties avoided responding to the accusation. Neither of them had thought anyone had taken notice of those carefully hidden movements.

"Now, I'll ask again. What is going on with you two?"

Just how in the world was Siegfried supposed to explain that? It was hard enough for him to fully grasp it. He just could not fathom it. Why would Zelda do such a thing? Why would she continue to make Link suffer?

She knew he had lost his freedom. Hell, she knew he had never really had it to begin with. Link had always been at someone's beck and call. If it was not her, it was his goddesses. If it was not them, it was the people of his country. If not them, then someone somewhere with some kind of problem always managed to find him, and he never did have the heart to reject their pleas. In return for his kindness he received nothing. Never had he ever been given a second to himself. Never had he ever been offered true friendship. Never had he ever found that one person his heart could truly hold in certainty. Not in that world.

He had in Siegfried's. He was free here. He did as he pleased with who he chose to associate with. Here only a handful of people knew his name, but that handful was enough to fill the blonde's world with precious memories. Here that handful had filled an empty heart. Here they had repaired broken faith. Here they had made themselves as vulnerable as he had. That made Link hope again. That had made him believe again. He was happy here.

How could she not see that? Why did she refuse to see it? Why didn't she just give up?

'**Why won't she just let me keep him?'**

"Siegfried?"

The knight shook his head and turned his attention back to Mitsurugi. The samurai was looking mildly concerned at his lack of proper focus. If the German was not careful, he would wind up getting slapped again.

"Ask her what she plans to do once this is all over."

"Pardon?"

Siegfried motioned over towards Zelda's general direction. He did not want to look at her right then. He would only end up becoming violent. He did still have some purpose for her, and he could not afford to harm her just yet. "Ask her what she intends to do once we release Link. I think you'll find it very interesting. It's certainly different from what I had planned." He would enjoy this. Just let her try to explain kidnapping Link a second time. He was sure it would go over _splendidly_.

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is that what this is all about?" He turned to Zelda, who was glaring at Siegfried with the fullest intent to end his life then and there. "What are you planning to do with him?"

She huffed. It was an obnoxious little thing the samurai could have slapped her for. "Don't make it sound so deviant." Was that an order she had just tossed his way? "I only mean to take him home."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Raphael quickly interrupted. "You mean to tell me she's going to take him back to that godforsaken hellhole?" Over his dead body. "I don't think so."

"My thoughts exactly." Siegfried added in. "But apparently she thinks she has the authority to do so."

She glared at him. "I am his princess. He follows my command."

Siegfried took a menacing step towards her. "You're not his anything in this world. You're not anything to him period."

She took a step towards him as well. "Watch your mouth."

Mitsurugi had had enough. This behavior was going to stop. Now. He swiftly walked over to the knight and princess, inching closer to one another by the second, and yanked them apart from each other by the ear. He was quickly met with yelps and sounds of pain. "Stop whining." He said coldly. "You two want to act like brats, I'll treat you like brats."

Zelda was nearly crying, and though Siegfried did his best to stay still, he too was feeling some pain. Mitsurugi's grip was not tender. It was firm and rough with a harsh intention behind the action. It had better hurt. Otherwise the two of them would not have gotten the message.

"Apparently the two of you aren't grown up enough to stand in the same room with each other. So now I have to waste my time by separating you. Siegfried," He tugged on the knight's ear. "Will go with Raphael. Epona needs a bath. And you princess," He tugged on hers as well. "Will stay with me and explain yourself. Is that clear?"

The two were silent as they tried to remove themselves from the Samurai's grip.

Mitsurugi only tugged harder. "I said is that clear?"

The two nodded quickly.

"Good."

Raphael was torn between arguing with the arrangement, and biting his tongue to avoid meeting the same fate as the two squirming in Mitsurugi's grip. He was not a baby sitter. He loved his own daughter immensely, he had an affectionate fondness for Sophitia's children, and an incredible amount of devotion to Link, but that was the extent of his patience for child like behavior. If the two of them were acting in such a way, he wanted nothing to do with either of them. However, Mitsurugi would be in no mood for any kind of mutiny. Not on this morning when his patience was already wearing thin.

Raphael did not fancy himself a masochist, and he most certainly had no desire to seem as though he had a death wish. After all, Amy still needed a father. So he would, for her sake, bite his tongue and simply go along with whatever the Samurai suggested.

"So," The Frenchman began uncertainly. "Epona needs a bath, correct?"

* * *

Mitsurugi waited until Raphael and Siegfried had left the room before giving the princess his full and undivided attention.

She was busily nursing a reddening ear while silently trying not to cry. Mitsurugi knew his grip had not been all that terrible. It had hurt, yes, he had made sure it did cause a small amount of pain, but it was nowhere near painful enough to bring about tears. Even a Hylian's sensitive ears could withstand a small tug here and there. Zelda was not hurt. Not physically anyway.

The only thing he might have been mortally wounding was her pride. She was humiliated, more so than Siegfried had been. She was a royal heir. Mitsurugi, in her eyes, was a common street thug. The difference in social standing between the two was substantial. She should have been able to make him bend over backwards to gain her favor. Instead she had been the one bowing down to him when the question of authority came into play. It was pitiful, and the fact that Mitsurugi was all too aware of the current status quo, and did not care to return it to how it should have been, made it all the more humiliating for her.

"Did you have to be so crude?"

He scoffed. What a childish sort of question. It was stupid even, given the fact that she knew the answer. "Hasn't your own father ever disciplined you before?"

"Never in such a barbaric manner."

"Too bad."

That was one of the worst things about noble children. They believed that they were immune to the workings of the outside world. That was largely due to their parent's lack of proper discipline. More often than not, noble parents were simply too lazy to enforce any decent rules, turning their children into spoiled little creatures. That made them think they could do anything. They failed to realize that other children, other adults, would not care one way or another where they came from. If you were rotten, you were going to get hit the second that large body guard was distracted. And it was going to hurt. It was going to hurt because mommy and daddy did not think to give you a small slap themselves to show you what would happen if you did not behave.

He was not a fan of child abuse. That was a different matter entirely. But a good, reasonable, slap on the hand or to the mouth to get the point across could do a child some good. Zelda certainly could have used those methods in her younger years.

"Now, I believe you and I have something to talk about." Mitsurugi said. "So start talking."

She was uncomfortable. The subtle way her body tensed, the way her eyes narrowed slightly, made him aware of one simple little fact. She did not want to talk. She did not want to talk because she knew he would be displeased with the course of the conversation. This would be an interesting talk indeed.

"I meant what I said." She was awfully calm for someone so nervous. He could almost commend her for it. "Once we have ensured our hero's safety and health, I intend to take him home."

"You mean your home."

"Our home." She corrected. "He was born of Hyrule. He bears the blood of its people. That is where he belongs."

She seemed terribly sure about that. "And what if he doesn't want to go 'home'?"

"Don't be absurd." Another order. "Why wouldn't he?"

Did she want the list in Hylian or Japanese? "I could think of a few reasons why."

"Such as?"

"You, for starters."

She seemed highly affronted. For a moment or two she tried to silently come up with various rebuttals and denials. Obviously nothing had been suitable enough to present to the Samurai, for nothing of consequence came out of her mouth.

"You're awfully arrogant, princess. For one thing, did you honestly think we would let you take Link away from us, a second time, without a fight? Have we given you any indication to assume that we would lie down and just let you walk away with him?"

She slowly shook her head.

"I didn't think so." HhhHe was honestly expecting more of a fight from her. She was certainly very fond of debates when it came to Siegfried. Perhaps she was scared of Mitsurugi? "For another, did you ever think about what he would want?"

She did not answer him.

"Or to be more specific, who Link would want?"

Her eyes widened slightly, a movement barely noticeable to anyone without his keen eye for minute detail. "What do you mean?"

"Let's not beat around the bush. I'm not stupid, and I assume you aren't either." Then again he could be wrong about her character, but he would leave that thought for another day. "What all of this comes down to is Siegfried's company versus yours, am I correct?"

She turned her head to the side. "Don't joke like that. There is no contest."

"Oh I am fully aware of that." The Samurai told her confidently. "I just wanted to make sure you knew you were sorely outmatched."

When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with a mixture of raw hurt and pure denial. She did not want to admit to what he had just said, and she did not want him believing that it was even a possibility. The problem was that she knew. She knew it to be fact. That was what was killing her.

"Do not dishonor my hero with such lies."

"**Your** hero? How incredibly possessive for a princess whose servant did everything in his power to stay away from her."

She was silent once again. Mitsurugi had come to learn that such an act from her was meant as a defense mechanism. Silence was forever golden. It could mean whatever you wanted it to mean, and could be bent in whichever way was necessary to keep up the façade of perfect indifference. It was a good enough strategy. He was simply far too used to it to be properly affected. He knew how to beat it. After all, silence was only golden if nobody else provided a sound.

"Listen carefully girl," Refusing to refer to her in any form of respect would drive the point home. "We need you around. I'll admit that. You have proven to be somewhat useful. That is why you are still alive. However, remember one thing. You need us too, and we outnumber you a good ten to one. We decide what will happen on this little journey, and you have no choice but to go along with whatever we say. Whether that is fair or not does not matter. It is fact and I guarantee you that it is what Link prefers."

Zelda remained silent. This time Mitsurugi did not feel the need to add anything to his previous statements. Instead he went straight for the door, leaving the princess behind in a stupor. He was finished with the current conversation at hand. If she did not understand by now, it was no longer his problem to deal with. He had to go get Amy packed and prepared for the journey ahead.

* * *

Raphael was silent at first. If he were to open his mouth too quickly, all that would be able to come out would be something of complete and utter embarrassment to the knight beside him. Siegfried would not be in the mood for his cynical humor. The German had just been dishonored right in front of the princess, the fact that she was embarrassed as well would not make much of a difference to him, and needed to retain at least a bit of his dignity. Raphael could give him that if nothing else.

"How exactly do we go about washing her?" Raphael asked, looking down at the basin of water on the ground. "Just dump the water on her and let her shake it off?"

Epona quickly gave an indignant neigh, to which Siegfried promptly burst out laughing. "She's not a dog."

"Well they're both animals aren't they? Can't they both work the same way?"

Epona angrily blew air in the Frenchman's general direction.

Siegfried could only shake his head. "I hope you never own any kind of animal. The poor thing would die within a week."

"Oh I am not so terrible. I keep a child fit and healthy don't I?"

Siegfried smiled. He took a wash cloth from his pocket, dropped it in the water, and then scoured the area for some soap. "A child is different from an animal. Children can tell you what they want, and it's easier to see if something is wrong with a child." The knight caught sight of what he was looking for and was quick to dump the bar into the warm water, giving it a moment to mix in with the liquid surrounding it. "Animals can't."

Raphael shrugged. "If nothing else my servants could take of it."

Siegfried shook his head, smug smile still standing tall. "Creatures of the earth need affection from the humans that keep them. Otherwise things could get ugly."

"You know this from experience?"

Siegfried shook his head.

"Then kindly shut up. My imaginary pets and I will be just fine."

The knight laughed. It was about as sincere as it could have been at the moment, which was not as much as it should have been, but Raphael could work with that. Siegfried said nothing more as he took hold of the wash cloth again, rung it out, and began the tedious task of washing the horse in front of him. Epona would occasionally force his hand away from scars he would accidently linger on too much, but other than that she stayed still. The warm water and soap mixture seemed to calm her a great deal, and after about ten minutes the Frenchman was shocked to see her completely at ease.

Siegfried soaked the hair of her mane and tail before looking to Raphael in expectation.

The swordsman blinked. Was he supposed to do something now? "Should I dry her off? Do we need a towel?"

"Actually, I was hoping you had a brush I could use for her hair, but if you had a towel on hand, that would be great." He took a glance at the various small cuts and bruises Epona had gained from the day before. "And some kind of disinfectant wouldn't hurt either."

Raphael really would have had no idea where to look for such items. He looked around him, spotted another horse in a stall nearby, and silently asked it with his eyes if he knew anything. The horse, in what appeared to be an answer to his unasked question, tilted its head to the side, motioning towards a haystack in front of it. Raphael moved to stand over the haystack in question. For a moment he stood, unmoving, looking to the horse, the hay, and then back to the horse again. The creature in question seemed confident in the hays content, and with a sigh Raphael fell to his knees and began digging into the stack.

Siegfried and Epona could only stare on in shock. "Raphael Sorel, are you on the floor, digging about in a haystack, of your own free will?"

The curses the Frenchman sent towards the knight were happily overshadowed by the rifling of scratchy yellow horse feed.

Siegfried smirked. "I should call a few of your servants down here. I bet they would be delighted to see their master so low on the social ladder."

Raphael sent a one finger salute out from beneath the hay.

Siegfried could only laugh. "I wish I could document this somehow. Do you think an artist is anywhere nearby? I'm sure this would make a great painting above your mantle."

"Don't you ever," He paused for a moment, before jumping out of the stack in relieved joy. "Ah-ha!" In the blonde's hands were a brush, a small towel, and a small covered tub of cream. "I found them!"

Siegfried turned to Epona. "I don't know which is more amazing. The fact that a horse told him where to find the stuff, or that he actually went and followed the order."

"Ha ha," Raphael could not keep down the victorious smile on his face, despite the various pieces of hay sticking out from his hair and clothes. "You're just jealous."

"Yeah, that's it." Siegfried took hold of the small tub and brush. "You start drying her off. I'll take care of the cuts and hair."

For a few minutes the two men worked together to try and get Epona looking better than ever. She quite liked being pampered, and Raphael and Siegfried made very good gentle hands. The Frenchman and German were almost as gentle handed as her master had been, and Raphael was sure she mentally replacing one of them with the blued eyed boy she loved and adored so much.

"So, what did she say?" Raphael ventured cautiously as he began drying off Epona's hooves.

"Who?"

"The girl…harlot…thing."

Siegfried merely shrugged and dabbed some ointment onto a cut on Epona's neck. "Nothing of major importance. Just what she told you two in the study."

Raphael could not bring himself to believe that. If it had been something so simple, Siegfried would have been able to control his temper better. "There was nothing else? Something besides her threat of whisking him away to hell in a hand basket?"

Siegfried's hands ceased movement for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed and his breathe hitched ever so slightly. "She may have."

Now Raphael was getting somewhere. "She may have what?"

"She may have…accused me of something."

"Accused you of what?"

Siegfried did not answer. For a moment, though, it looked as though he wanted to. Then it almost seemed as though he were going to.

"Siegfried! Raphael!"

And then Mitsurugi walked into the stables, ruining any chance the Frenchman might have had to get the German to talk. The knight would not speak so freely around Mitsurugi. Not for a few days anyway, until the Samurai had a chance to forget the little episode earlier that morning.

"You two almost done?"

Siegfried nodded. "She's all set and cleaned up."

Raphael added, "And I do believe someone already took the liberty of cleaning her saddle."

Siegfried had done that the night before. Watching Amy sleep, tossing and turning with tears in her eyes, had not been good for his guilty heart. He knew he would have gone crazy if he were to watch her for too long. So he kept himself busy. He cleaned, polished, and dusted off every speck of the saddle Epona brought with her to this world. Everything except for the pouches attached to the sides of the saddle. For some reason they were tied shut with very intricate knots he did not care to untie at the moment. He found it odd, but he cleaned around them and soon forgot all about them.

"Well then, get ready." Mitsurugi said. "We leave as soon as the two of you are through. We still have a long journey ahead of us, so remember to pack light."

* * *

"You call this light?"

Raphael stared back at Mitsurugi, innocent curiosity at its absolute finest. "What? I only packed the essentials."

Mitsurugi raised an eyebrow at the nearly dozen bags Raphael had around him. "Really? These are just the essentials?"

The Frenchman nodded. "Clothes, bathing materials, life savings, family heirlooms, jewelry, any other valuable I do not trust my staff with, and a few goods that can be sold in other towns."

Mitsurugi shook his head and placed it in his hand. "Do you know the meaning of the word essential?"

Raphael huffed and pouted. An odd combination that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else but him. For one reason or another, even the most childish of actions seemed regal on the head of the Sorel family. "I need clothes don't I? And I'm sorry, but I simply cannot live without my bathing materials. For the life of me I can't bring myself to trust these people with heirlooms or jewelry, and you cannot deny that I will need money along the way. Eventually the money I have will run out, in which case I will need to sell a few things in order to get some more."

Mitsurugi felt like finding a nearby brick wall and bashing his head against it. The Sorel's were impossible. He thought Amy had been hard headed when she packed her belongings. Despite Mitsurugi's request, more like gentle orders if he were honest with himself, Amy had not chosen to pack the simple necessities. Instead she had chosen to pack around three bags worth of materials the Samurai was willing to bet she would not even need. Suddenly, three seemed like nothing next to the dozen her father had.

"I hope you realize that you're carrying all this yourself."

Raphael waved off the warning. "Once we manage to get to our next destination I'll sell of a few things to lighten the load."

There was no more room for arguments. Even if there was, Mitsurugi did not want to try. His head would surely implode. "Everyone just circle around Mt. Sorel. Princess, in the center."

A few minutes later, after the initial adjusting of bags and horses, the group circled around Zelda in a somewhat uncomfortable circular formation. Siegfried had not remembered the gathering being nearly so cramped the first time around. He and Zelda were so close together he nearly vomited on the spot. Mt. Sorel would have to be torn down as soon as possible. Siegfried could not handle such close spaces with such a vulgar princess a second time.

Farore's Wind was repeated. This time, something was different.

Siegfried had at once begun to experience the same sensations he had the first time Zelda had cast the transportation spell. The same unusual pain, the same numbness, the same tear jerking white, only this time,

"_Siegfried!"_

There was also _his_ voice.

* * *

_To have them all together like this was a rare treat. _

_The men in the group could not usually say they had a free minute to themselves. They were the breadwinners, so to speak, of their odd little family. They were the first line of defense for any and all means of the journey, whether it be in a fight, collecting money for the voyage, or making sure the women in their group were at their best at all times. Someone had to do it. _

_Sophitia needed Mitsurugi's help in seeing to the overall wellbeing of the group. She would tend to the medical and emotional needs of her younger companions. Jobs like those were her specialty, a forte of which no one else could rival. That was a lot of responsibility to take on, especially with the added task of making ground rules for the group to follow. Some of them were not always favored. Mitsurugi needed to be that added muscle to enforce any rules Sophitia thought needed to be seen to. It was not often needed, but it was good to have his figure looming about in order to discourage any bad behavior. It also helped the Athenian know that she had some support at her disposal. Had she not had that reassurance, she probably would have felt too overwhelmed and unable to handle the pressure. The woman was a gentle soul, and Mitsurugi had gotten fair warning from her husband to keep it that way. The samurai was also the leader, the first man people went to with concerns and complaints. He had been the most experienced in battle and issues pertaining to the ugly side of human nature. He had become hardened over the harsh years of war and fighting, and so he had turned into a marvelous rock that kept his group grounded._

_Yunseong had a duty to both Talim and to Seong Mina, more so than any other of his companions. That duty often involved making himself a scapegoat for sudden rage, and becoming open to embarrassment from far too awkward questions. He was also the group's main source of muscle power. He was not, by any means, the only man capable of completing manual labor, but he was the one with the hardest head. He could take damage easier than anyone, and as such was expected to do so every time it was asked of him. _

_Raphael was in charge of keeping a dignified air around the group, wherever it saw fit to travel to. He made sure the men were always on their best behavior and never lacking in somewhat decent manners, and that the women knew to keep a classy and feminine demeanor around the right people. He was fond of all his traveling companions, and he did not wish to change any of them. However, he knew that certain mannerisms were important to different classes around the world. The group had to be prepared to travel in all walks of life. They knew the bottom of the food chain. Raphael just wanted to ensure they knew how to act around the higher class. He had been given quite a fight at first, from just about every member of the group, and was at times still being fought against by hard heads. Despite it all the Frenchman knew how to keep his companions in decent shape._

_Yoshimitsu was expected to keep the group well stocked in regards to both supplies and in money. It would be disastrous if they were to suddenly run out of food during a leg of a journey, or become sick without proper methods of treatment. They were a large group who needed a large amount of items to keep functioning. Yoshimitsu saw to it that they were never short on anything. They would always have what they needed when he was in charge of supplies. The thief was very good at his job, and he knew how to gather what was needed. He may never have done so legally, but he did always manage to get the job done. _

_Maxi and Kilik took on their duties as a tag team. They were the ones who gathered and spread various pieces of information about the country. Maxi knew the ins and outs of the harsher areas of the world. A pirate himself, he knew how to appear sleazy and dangerous enough to get what he wanted. Often times the underground had valuable information that needed to be extracted in a very intimidating way. Maxi was more than happy to stoop so low for the sake of his team._

_Kilik did the same, except he was used more for the kinder, less trusting patrons of the gossip world. He was a kind soul, and very unassuming to the average eye. He was easy to trust. People like priests and unwilling participants in the fight against Soul Edge felt like their knowledge was safe with him. With he and Maxi covering both sides of life, their methods for gathering information was near perfect in execution. _

_Link and Siegfried had to be the ones to take the brunt of the women's mothering instincts. The blondes were warriors, the best of their lands, just as strong and capable as their male comrades were. However, the two of them were one thing that their friends were not. They were sympathetic and understanding to the need a woman has to be nurturing. It was in a girl's nature to take care of an object of affection. Whether it be a friend, a lover, or a child, the want and desire to baby something or someone was always present. It did not matter how hardened a woman was. That desire was still buried deep within her, somewhere she herself might not even be aware of. Other men in the group were quite uncomfortable with such strong instinct._

_Link was used to it by now. Saria had babied him quite a bit back in his old forest home. She had been the one to soothe his small child injuries, and scold him when he did something foolhardy. She was also the one to go about punishing the ones who teased him, who was more often than not Mido or someone working on behalf of Mido. Link had hated the treatment at one point in time. He knew how to take care of himself, and he had proven himself capable of doing so on many occasions. Saria just never gave him the chance to showcase his skills. She took care of his problems for him without him necessarily asking her too. The other girls in the forest soon followed her example, and took to caring for him as well. They felt it necessary after seeing how naïve and vulnerable he was compared to the other boys. He had not seen it that way, - again, he knew how to fend for himself just fine thank you very much- but they had gotten very cross with him whenever he tried to argue with them, which was about 99% of the time. After a while he simply let them do as they pleased. He found he rather liked having a sort of parental presence over him. It certainly came in handy when he was thinking of things to threaten his tormentors with. Little boys, surprisingly enough, were absolutely terrified when faced with the possible rage of little girls._

_The German had had similar experiences in his young life. Siegfried's mother was the most excruciatingly nurturing person in all of Germany, if not the entire world. She was the one woman all the little boys in his hometown feared to have as their mother. She loved to kiss, cuddle, and hug her child. She did not care one way or another who was within view as she was doing so. Siegfried secretly believed she had wanted a girl as her first child, a gender that could very well take said gestures kindly, and would in fact actually welcome them out in public. Siegfried often found himself wishing he had a little sister, if only to take his mother's attention away from him. Her love could be quite embarrassing, especially when she expressed it around other boys his own age. He stopped trying to fight it when he realized she would not stop, no matter many times he begged her to, and simply decided to deal with those who had a problem with it. If they laughed at him when his mother showed she cared, he quickly hit the closest body part he could reach, made sure to mention how they would not be so quick to laugh if they had mothers who actually wanted to come near their ugly little mutant bodies, and pushed them down to the ground. Those who did not cry never bothered him again. Those who did cry never came near him again. _

_The two blondes had taken those past experiences and turned them into tolerance. When Sophitia wanted to be strict about how hard the two of them were allowed to train, they agreed with her wholeheartedly and only sparred with the other once they were sure they were out of her line of sight. When Ivy decided to monitor their meals, spouting something about proper nutrition, they simply nodded, ate what she told them to, and then ate whatever they wanted to in secret. When Cassandra wanted to take them shopping, they followed her through the line of various shops with little more than grumbles, making sure she never __**ever**__ found them something to wear. When Xianghua wanted to teach them how to dance, they studiously attended her lessons and let her take care of anyone who made fun of them. That was their civic duty to the group, to make sure all the women had something to take care of. They carried it out with pride. _

_Needless to say, each and every male member of the group had an important job to do. They saw to them as well, and as often, as they could. Because of this, they rarely ever had free time. Especially free time to spend with each other. When they did get together, it was to see that a job had been done to its fullest and in the best interest for the group. They were not little boys. They could not come together for fun. _

_Tonight was different. The women had all shuffled off to some kind of 'festival' that their male companions were not welcome to attend. Mitsurugi suspected that this 'festival' was nothing more than some kind of girl getaway, seeing as none them had on any formal festival wear, and had taken Voldo and Lizardman as their source of protection instead of one of the actual human men. Nevertheless Yoshimitsu still asked if they would need any money for the night, Mitsurugi still asked Sophitia if she would have any trouble handling the small group on her own, and Raphael still asked if they were sure that they would need no one else to go with them. A negative response was given to each inquiry, and then the women were off. _

_No matter. Those remaining saw the free night as a gift, and they had never been ones to look a gift horse in the mouth. Within the hour they were all drinking outside of their current inn, sitting around a bonfire, behaving as though they were all on some kind of glorious vacation. They laughed, complained, and made bold declarations well into the night. Forget fanciful festivals. Men did not need such parties to bond. Simply drinking together could show you so much more about your traveling companions. The words you spoke in the daylight hours could be deceiving. The way you drank was not._

_Raphael, for example, took his time with every drink. He would smell the wine, hold it up to the fires light, and when he was satisfied with what he saw, he allowed himself to take a sip. Once he did he rolled it around in his mouth to assess the quality. Only when he was assured of its richness did he completely immerse himself in the alcohol he let pour down his throat. The way he investigated every detail about each and every single glass was a testament to how he chose everything in his life. Nothing was ever second hand shop worthy in his world. His friends, his family, his weapon, his duties, were all of the highest brand, and taken care of with the finest of efforts. Raphael would never take on any endeavor, accept any kind of offering, with anything less than a feral grace that knew the taste of perfection. _

_Mitsurugi could drink to his heart's content. He had long since grown immune to alcohols immense power over the human mind. Technically, he could drink however much he desired and would not be punished for it in the usual sense. Still, even though he did drink enough to keep up with his younger comrades, he did not overdo it. His rate was steady, just enough to be social and have a good time. He did not guzzle or chug whatever was in his glass. That would make him look like a drunkard. The samurai prided himself on having a proper image wherever he walked in life. On the battlefield he was the powerful warrior. In his group he was the strict father figure. In a social gathering he was the man who could hold his liquor. However, he was never overbearing with his presence. He was not a cruel slaughter machine when he fought, though some would argue against that. He did not beat on those he looked after like some kind of abusive father. And he was most certainly no over indulgent drunk. He knew when enough was enough to make a point. Anything more than that was overkill. Just enough, what was needed to the full extent, and nothing more than that was necessary. _

_Yunseong, one of the youngest members of the group in mind, drank alcohol as though it were some kind of fruity drink. He was indulgent in the way it made him feel. He knew his limits. That much was certain, otherwise he would have been attempting to fly off the roof by the second round. But he also knew that while he could not go over those limits, he could meet them in a pleasant way. He wanted to smile. He wanted to feel good. Sure, he could not fly off the roof, but that did not mean he could not dream of some wild way of doing so. He liked to dream, and drinking was just a way to dream whilst still awake. The drinks he let flow were a way of letting those dreams come out of his mouth where others could hear them. When he was under the influence of the drink, he did not care if others laughed at those dreams. The smiles they produced were just as good as what he had been thinking about anyway. It made him feel as though he had done something right for a little while. _

_Maxi drank every glass as though it were his last. Never was one wasted. He had tasted his fair share of liquor in the past, no doubt the fruits he bore of holding the title of a pirate, and had tasted some of the finest wines in all of humanity. What he was drinking now, though not cheap, was not the grand ambrosia of taste. Yet, he appreciated it. He let it slide down as though it were as refined as a high glass drink. He knew better than to discriminate. Looks can be deceiving. If a man walked into a situation with the mindset that there was something better, what was before him would seem inferior. If one were to look at a situation as though it were a God given gift, he would be pleasantly surprised at how good it truly was. Maxi applied that kind of thinking to everything in life. Including drinking with the guys._

_Kilik was not used to indulging in 'sinful' activities like drinking. He was self disciplined. He knew how to overlook certain temptations. He was always too busy trying to redeem or protect. Anything that would weaken him to a point of lacking in the skills to do so was not something he wanted to partake in. When he did indulge in such things, with a few little shoves from who he was with, everyone was quick to realize just how unprepared he was to deal with them. He drank like a newcomer. He did chug when his pride was teasingly threatened, and he did his best to hide the fact that it burned. He was the first to become inebriated simply because he was not used to the pace he had set for himself. It was further proof of how unused he was to letting himself enjoy a few guilty pleasures in life, because when he did he went overboard with how much fun he really had with them. However, it also proved that he trusted who he was drinking with. Otherwise he never would have let himself indulge too much to begin with. Had anyone else asked him to, he probably would not have even accepted the first glass. _

_Yoshimitsu knew how to have fun. It was apparent in everything he did, but it became even more obvious when he had a drink in his hand. He was a merry drinker, and that night's mask actually did give him the room to drink without removing it, much to Link's frustration. The thief was the first to suggest a drinking game, and he was the first to begin what would become a movement of some of the most sadly sung songs the group would ever utter, accompanied by Link and his wonderful Ocarina. Yoshimitsu liked a happy atmosphere and he believed everyone deserved one. He encouraged a good time. He knew it might not come again, but that was part of the thrill. That tonight could be the last time you celebrated anything made tasting its sweet nectar that much more satisfying. There was also an amused curiosity as to what would happen when Sophitia discovered the group had been drinking. He was even more curious as to what she would do when she realized he was the one who supplied the alcohol. _

_Siegfried knew what his limits were. His father had been the one to teach him how to drink. The older Schtauffen had shown his son how to drink alcohol without letting it become an addiction or compulsion. He taught the younger how to slow down so that the drink would not burn his throat as it made its round throughout his body. He taught his son how to recognize when he was feeling the effects of what was in his glass, so that no regretful mistakes could be made because of his less than alert mind. Most importantly, Frederick taught his son when to know when he had enough. Siegfried had taken those lessons to heart, and now the knight could deduce, depending on the drink, just how many he could have before he called it a night. He liked having that kind of control. When he was around strangers he liked to keep that control as strict and as proper as it had always been. When he was surrounded by friends, however, there was no harm in drinking a few more glasses than what he was used to. The extra drinks made him loosen up and become more open to the fun endeavors he would have never partaken in under normal circumstances. When Link was around, Siegfried liked to keep the limit to just that extra drink or two. It showed the elf that he could loosen up and have a good time just like the rest of their friends, yet still keep himself sober enough to keep an eye on the younger if he needed to. _

_Link had no more than five glasses the entire night. He was not a big fan of alcohol. No matter how fine it was, it was usually always bitter and it took a lot to keep it from burning him. He was also naïve about its consumption. He never drank in his world, peasants like him never got the chance, and doing so purely for social enjoyment was a new concept to him, as was just about everything else in this world. Siegfried had taught him how to drink, and though he did not like it very much, he did like to show the German that he had taken in the lessons. It was also nice to feel the small buzz he acquired after a few of the drinks had made their way into his system. He never allowed himself to get too out of hand, as he was scared of finding out what he would do when he could not control himself, but he did like to be social, and this crowd was one he admired and trusted very much. He would not mind following their lead. _

_It was only when they were on their fourth rendition of some old folk song, either from Germany or from France, they had a hard time remembering after a while, when the innkeeper screamed at them to stop shattering the glass with all their screeching, did the group finally laugh out a consensus to call it a night and head on over to bed. _

_Yoshimitsu and Mitsurugi stayed behind to clean up whatever mess the group had left. They were men, not pigs, after all, and they knew how to pick up after themselves. Besides that, it would be a lot less harder to pin any bad behavior on the group of men if there was no evidence to back up the claims. Raphael decided to sweet talk the staff into letting it slide that there had been alcohol present that night. It would be so much better for everyone involved if the women thought their evening to be uneventful. Kilik was still far too drunk to move himself anywhere. Siegfried and Maxi, out of the kindness of their hearts, now armed with the means with which to tease for years to come, decided to help him to his room. Link and Yunseong went on ahead to bed. _

_Siegfried found it beyond amusing to see his usually completely composed friend consumed by alcohol. Their particular choice had not even been all that heavy of a dosage to start with. Had Kilik taken it a bit easier with the drinking, he probably would have had no problems about keeping himself under control. Instead, now he had absolutely no idea what was going on in the world around him. He had called Maxi mother about eight times and had attempted to confess something of dire importance to Siegfried who he thought was Xianghua. It took about an hour before Siegfried was able to leave for the room he shared with Link, just barely keeping his laughs down to a reasonable volume. _

_The knight tried to be as quiet as he could when entering the room. Link liked to sleep as thoroughly as he could whenever he got the chance. When the young man's rest was interrupted he usually did not fall back asleep very easily. If he did manage to fall back into some kind of semblance of slumber, it was nowhere near as deep and comfortable as it had originally been. Siegfried found, however, that he had not needed to be so careful. Link was still awake when he slipped in, sitting up on his bed and staring down at the sheets as though he were in deep thought._

"_I thought you'd already be in bed." Siegfried said closing the door behind him. "Can't sleep?"_

_Link looked up at him and shrugged._

_Siegfried responded in kind. _

_He chuckled when Link sent him a pouting glare. The boy did not like being teased, especially when he was not prepared to retort with something. Siegfried merely ruffled the younger's hair as he went about preparing for bed. He felt extremely tired, and his greatest desire at that moment was to simply get a good night's sleep._

_Drinking had never had that affect on him, had never made him drowsy or exhausted in any way, but he usually never enjoyed his drinking endeavors much either. Drinking had always been a purely social and expected requirement he took to without complaint. He never knew you could actually have some fun while acting like a fool in front of all of your comrades under the influence of a simple bottle's contents. The added enjoyment must have taken up a good amount of his energy, causing him to tire out faster than he normally would have. It was a new experience for him, but one he found he would not mind repeating in the future. Being tired after having fun actually sounded very nice._

_Siegfried had been pleasantly distracted when he began redressing himself for a night's rest. He had not paid any more attention to Link until the elf had asked, rather boldly,_

"_Is it wrong to say I love you to another man?"_

_Siegfried dropped the shirt in his hand before abruptly turning to face Link. His expression was a cross between utter confusion and pure disbelief. "What did you say?"_

_Link just looked back at him in fierce determination. He wanted Siegfried to answer him one way or another. The knight would not get away with an 'I don't know', not even to a slightly intoxicated naïve young boy. "Is it wrong to say I love you to another man? I thought it was alright to say that to anyone you cared for."_

_The knight was not quite sure how to respond to that. The fact that he was shirtless and was now expected to answer a question about love, in a room alone with his tipsy best friend, who had also decided to forgo wearing a shirt that night, sitting innocently on a bed, did not help matters at all. "Uh," Just what was he supposed to say? "Why do you ask?"_

_Link furrowed his brow and looked back down to the sheets on his bed. "Yunseong and I were walking to our rooms and we passed by a group checking in. I think they must have been a passing platoon of some kind of army. Anyway, one of the older guys, they called him a commander, had his arm around the shoulders of this younger boy. The commander kept whispering things to him, smiling kind of oddly, until finally the younger one pulled out his wallet and paid for the troops stay. Then the commander patted the younger on the back and said he loved him." It was then that Link looked back up to Siegfried. "Yunseong said it was wrong to say that. He said people like that shouldn't say I love you. He said that he could not say it to that boy. He said it was wrong."_

_That did not sound like Yunseong at all. Not even drunk Yunseong would say something like that. "How old was this kid?"_

"_My age."_

"_And the commander?"_

"_Older than Mitsurugi I think."_

_Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "And were there other people around when this commander said this little declaration of love?"_

_Link shook his head. "The other platoon members left after the younger took out his wallet. And Yunseong only knew what this guy said because I told him. I think I was the only one to hear it."_

"_How did he say it?"_

_Link scratched at his head. Siegfried could see the small doses of alcohol the younger had consumed were starting to affect his way of thinking. "He sounded happy about it, but,"_

"_But?"_

"_It sort of sounded how Yunseong sounds when he's playing around."_

_Siegfried sighed and shook his head. It made sense to him now. What was going on, and why Yunseong had felt the need to add in his two cents. "Yunseong didn't mean it was wrong for the guy to say he loved his subordinate because of his gender. In general that kind of thing doesn't matter." _

_That was probably the biggest lie the German had ever told Link. Things like that did matter in this world, more so than Siegfried cared to admit. People were persecuted for it, taken advantage of because of it, and in some cases they were executed for such actions. However, Siegfried was not so sure how it worked in Link's world. He would rather not sink the Hylian's opinion of this world any further if he could help it. No one else would tell him, and Link would never need to know if it was true or not. Besides, the group they were traveling with did not think about aspects like those very often. Fighters, surprisingly, did not take that into much consideration in their daily lives. They had much better things to do than worry about someone else's personal life. What Link didn't know wouldn't hurt him._

"_It was wrong in this case because he probably didn't mean it."Siegfried explained further. _

_Link tilted his head in confusion. He was far too innocent for his own good sometimes. Of course he would not understand the situation. He was slightly tipsy and even at the worst of times thought the best of people. He could not fathom someone not meaning the love they preached. This would take a lot more than a few sentences to explain. _

_Siegfried motioned for the younger to scoot over and proceeded to sit beside him on the bed. Link kept his eyes solely on the knight, as though he had all the answers in the world. _

"_Link, that commander had an entire platoon to pay for. It's expensive, especially for a soldier's wages. That subordinate must have had more money to spare. So the commander coaxed and charmed the kid into paying. He sugar coated the deal with a false declaration of love because he was glad he wasn't paying. He might have also thought it would get the kid to do things like that more often."_

_Link frowned. "But that boy looked really happy when he heard his superior say that. He was even glowing with pride."_

_Siegfried sighed. He did not much care for this kind of conversation. He was sure it would only lessen the respect Link had for humanity. "That was probably why this commander thought he could get away with saying it. Admiration can get someone to do a lot of things, including being fooled by pretty little lies. The kid heard what he wanted to hear, and he believed it because he respected his higher officer. Yunseong saw that, and he knew that was not the right way to use love. It's not a tool to abuse as you see fit."_

_Link did not seem to fully wrap his head around the situation. "That's so cruel."_

_Siegfried regretfully nodded. "I've seen it happen before. It's a bit too common actually."It was sad. Higher officers were supposed to be a standard, a pillar that their subordinates could look to for guidance and support. That power was not meant to be abused for selfish gain._

_Link took hold of a clump of his hair in his hand. "So, how else can you abuse love?" He shook his head. "I mean, when else are you not supposed to say it? Is it wrong to say it all the time?"With each new question the hair was tugged, frustration causing Link's pitch to higher slightly. _

_Siegfried took hold of the hand Link was using to pull his hair and held it in one of his own. He used the other to gently ruffle the younger's hair, soothing the areas Link had just assaulted seconds before. "There's really only one time you're not supposed to say it, and that's when you don't mean it. Otherwise it'll just end up hurting the person you've said it to."_

_Link leaned into the touch, glad for its comfort, but he was frowning yet again. "Well, how do you know you mean it?"_

_Good question. "You just feel it in your gut I guess."_

_Link did not seem to like that answer. "But you said it could hurt someone if you don't mean it. How do you know if it's truly a gut feeling or just a desire for it to be?"_

_Siegfried was no expert on the subject. He had never been in love with anyone before, at least not to his knowledge. He knew how strong love could be though, and part of the reason why he knew how such love felt was because of the boy sitting beside him. He owed it to Link to at least try and explain __**that**__ kind of love._

"_Love, true love, is not something you do for yourself. Human's are selfish by nature, but love, it's the most selfless things we've got."_

_Link's eyes were starting to glimmer a bit. He looked to be hanging on Siegfried's every word as though it were the golden law of legend. To him it probably was._

"_Love is what makes a person think less of themselves and more about the person they care for. For that person they would move heaven and earth, give up everything they own, suffer torments they had never before imagined, all for the sake of that one special person."_

_It was like how Siegfried did everything he could to see that Link always had what he needed. The little things, like the kind of foods he liked or a special trinket he thought was pretty, and the big things, like new clothes and small tune ups for his weapons. Link's well being was at the forefront of the knight's mind every single day. So much so that his own well being was put to the back of his mind, for at least a few days at a time._

"_Love is what has you smiling despite your mood because the one you love is happy. Love is what has you happily going out of your way to help the person you love."_

_Link had that kind of effect on Siegfried. Those eyes, that smile, that soft and kind face. Everything about Link just spoke of joy and devoted happiness. Siegfried found himself smiling even when he was so upset about the world around him that he was ready to jump off a bridge. It was a rare gift, that ability to make those around you happy despite it all, and Link had learned to mold it into a weapon to fight off such horrid feelings. Siegfried was thankful for it. He wanted to protect it. He wanted to protect Link. Nothing was too large a request, and nothing was too much of a burden to complete. As long as he got that smile as a reward, Siegfried was happy to do just about anything. Even if it meant stopping the sun from rising. _

"_Love is when people are completely selfless to the point that their life is no longer their own, and they're okay with that."Like how Siegfried Schtauffen was no longer the German's identity, but was now only his name. His life was Link's now, and he could not have been any happier with that. _

"_What if it's not so strong?"_

"_Then it isn't love. Anything less is either obsession or mere infatuation." _

_Not that he would know from personal experience. This was one of those rare moments when he had to supply Link with an answer he had never gotten the opportunity to test out in real life. He usually held off on doing so, he never wanted to give Link improper information, but explaining something like this to the elf, giving him nothing more than what the knight felt to be so… it felt truer than anything he had ever uttered before. _

"_But you should know that when you do mean what you say, those three words can be said to your most important people." Siegfried was quick to add. "Family, friends, lovers. Just mean it and you can say it."_

_Link took a moment to let the knight's words sink in before he smiled brightly. It was an expression much better suited for him than the frowns he had been sporting. "Thanks Siegfried. I think I get it now."_

"_Good." Siegfried got up and straightened himself out with a stretch. Talks like that usually left his body much tenser than any actual battle. _

_He reminded himself, as he walked over to where his forgotten shirt lay, to have a little chat with Yunseong in the morning. If the redhead was going to carelessly open his mouth and confuse Link, he could at least have the decency to provide the Hylian with some sort of information on the subject. It would certainly save the knight a bit of the initial embarrassment he had felt that night._

_For a moment he pondered on whether or not he wanted to wear the shirt he had in his hand. It was rather warm tonight, and perhaps he was just a bit too lazy to bother with putting it on. He could do without it for one night, surely. Not like he would get sick or anything, and Link was the only other person sharing this room. There was no fear of being indecent. That in mind, he was just about to toss the article of clothing to the nearest corner when he heard Link call out to him. _

_He turned to face the boy once more. "Anything else?"_

_Link smiled brightly. "I love you Siegfried!"_

_The knight stood immobile for a second. Link continued to stare at him with pure honest blue eyes, and a smile that coaxed the knight into believing what he already knew to be true. Siegfried found himself smiling too, and then surprised himself, and his friend, by throwing his shirt at Link's head. The elf was so surprised he fell backwards on his bed when the article of clothing hit him square in the face. _

_Siegfried simply laughed. "Put that on. It'll get chilly soon, and the last thing I need is for you to get a cold."_

_After that, the knight happily walked over to his bed. Link sputtered and tried to complain as Siegfried tucked himself in. He would get an earful for that tomorrow. Barely drunk or not, Link would not let such a blatant insult to his masculinity go. No, a challenge would be brewing in the morning. Yet, Siegfried was oddly okay with that. He was happy, and a soft fluttering feeling was forming in his stomach. He rather liked it. Whatever it was, alcohol or simple joy from Link's words, he liked it very much. _

_A moment later he felt a soft weight collide with his back. He turned around to face a slightly red Hylian with his arm outstretched, the pillow he had thrown now on the floor. But, the knight noted with a smile, he was wearing the shirt Siegfried had tossed to him. _

"_You didn't answer me." He said._

"_Answer what?" The knight smirked._

_Link blushed, and adorably glared at his friend. "I said I love you."_

_Siegfried beckoned the elf over with a wag of his finger. Link tilted his head, but rose and took a few steps towards Siegfried. The knight beckoned him closer, and Link obliged yet again. It was not until the two were face to face, mere inches apart, that Siegfried leaned up and whispered in the elf's ear, _

"_I love you too Link."_

* * *

He was warm. This time when he rose to consciousness, he was warm. It was as if his body had been frozen to the core and was just now basking in a glow long forgotten, allowing its heat to slowly seep into him. He knew of only two things that would bask him with unbiased light, and only one of them was now within his reach. The sun.

"It's still daylight?" He found himself whispering, unsure if anyone was there to hear him or not.

A soft laugh and a gentle caress on his face was his reward. "It's good to have you awake, my little one."

Clarity was coming to him much more quickly than the last time. So was the recognition. Siegfried knew that voice. He knew that nickname. There was only one person who had ever called him that, and he had only ever allowed one person, besides his mother, to speak to him in such an endearing way.

"Sophitia?"

The hand on his face came to rest on the top of his head. "You'll never know if you don't open your eyes."

Warily, just in case he was still trapped in a land of fond memories, Siegfried opened his eyes. He was quick to realize that he was laying down on something, a bed if he was not mistaken, that was much more comfortable than what Raphael had put him on the day before. His vision soon cleared completely, and once it did he was able to see the familiar furnishings of an Athenian household.

"It's real."

A smiling face, one he had adored two years prior, obstructed his line of sight. Sophitia's eyes danced in glee. "Did you think you were still dreaming?"

The knight nodded. "I've been having really realistic dreams lately. It's kind of hard to tell which ones are just figments of my imagination." It was also hard to determine if he even wanted to wake up from those dreams anymore. The world his mind conjured up was much more fulfilling than his current reality. Sleeping for an unsolicited amount of time could be beautiful.

"Uncle Siegfried!" Two little voices shouted.

The knight instantly sat up, and Sophitia straightened immediately. Siegfried wanted to question whose voices sounded so familiar. Sophitia looked liked she wanted to explain. Before either got the chance to open their mouths, a young boy and girl burst into the room with their distressed aunt following close behind. Siegfried barely had the chance to properly recognize them before they climbed onto the bed and tackled him further into the sheets. How he managed to remain sitting was a mystery.

The girl latched on to his neck while the boy took hold of one of his arms. Instantly they began speaking a thousand miles a minute in what Siegfried assumed was some kind of a human language, but could only be perceived as speeded buzzing. Still, he knew these two small monkey like creatures to be a friendly pair. He remembered how that blonde haired, blue eyed boy had sometimes been mistaken for his son on casual outings to the market place, much to Siegfried's embarrassment. He recalled how that little brown haired, green eyed girl had mischievously sent Link on wild goose chases whenever he believed her to be in trouble. He also found himself reminiscing on how he and Link would often partake in games with the two young children when other adults were too busy.

He also recalled how strong a grip each of them had once the air flow and blood circulation in his body was lessened considerably.

"Pyrrha, Patroklos, Uncle Siegfried needs to breathe!" The knight managed to wheeze out after roughly five minutes of being lovingly strangled.

The children pouted, but eventually decided to give the man a break and let go of their beloved uncle. However, neither of them wanted to leave his side just yet. So they decided to simply sit beside him on the bed for the moment until he caught his breath.

They were glowing. Just looking at him, smiles alight in unfiltered happiness, seemed like enough to make them content for dozens of years to come. Having him within their reach, being able to actually reach out and touch him, looked to over joy them far more than any other childlike joy could have ever managed to. It occurred to the knight, as he rubbed his bruising neck, that they must have missed him something fierce. Children grew attached to individuals fairly quickly, and Siegfried had been something of a constant in their lives two years prior. Disappearing without warning for x amount of years must have hurt them.

He could have at least visited them. They were innocents in the fight Soul Edge had brought to the people around them. They were mere children. They had done nothing wrong. Yet they had lost both Link and Siegfried in what appeared to be one final swoop. The pain that brought to their little hearts could not be measured, but surely it was enough to shatter whatever world they had composed for themselves at the time. Being without the two blondes before that final battle could not have helped much. Link could not be blamed for that. He had an excuse for not being there for the two small children. Siegfried did not.

He tried to smile through the guilt, hoping they could see how sorry he was in that pathetic little gesture. "Hi guys. Long time no see."

They smiled back at him. Neither of them said anything.

"Have you guys been good since I last saw you?"

They nodded.

"Uh, have you given your parents any trouble?"

They shook their heads.

He was quickly becoming uncomfortable with their staring. Had he said something weird? Did he have something on his face? "Uh-"

"You were gone a long time." Patroklos said.

"And you didn't even write us a letter." His sister added with a pout.

The guilt was magnified tenfold. Not only had he chosen to never visit, but he had also never even considered sending a letter during the holidays or their birthdays. "Sorry about that. I wish I…I was busy."

"Were you traveling?" The little boy asked, eyes wide and full of wonder.

Siegfried was going to have to lie to ensure those eyes remained tear free. "Yes I was. I went to all sorts of places." He ruffled the boy's hair. "Places much too dangerous for little boys to venture off to."

Patroklos pouted. "Well, where are they then?"

Siegfried blinked in confusion. "Where are what?"

Pyrrha scoffed. "Come on uncle Siegfried, you know."

No he most certainly did not know. And where had she learned to scoff like that? She looked a bit too much like Cassandra when she did. "Enlighten me."

The young brunette blinked. "What's that mean?"

Cassandra piped up from behind Sophitia, who was watching the exchange with an amused smile. "It means talk to him as if he were dumb. You know Siegfried has never been all that bright to begin with."

Siegfried did not feel even the slightest bit of guilt when the pillow he threw hit her square in the face. His only regret was that he had not taken hold of something stronger. He had forgotten how irritating Cassandra could be at times.

"So," He started casually, conveniently ignoring the fuming blonde girl. "Tell me what it is you two want again."

They both took in a deep breath. "Presents! Presents! Presents!"

It took a moment for Siegfried to fully comprehend what it was he had just heard. When he finally did manage to understand, he smiled. It just figured. A trip away from home meant that gifts would be presented upon the traveling party's return. They thought Siegfried had brought them back something from his little trip abroad and that was why he was there.

"You guys want gifts?"

They nodded eagerly.

"I think I can do a little something." He cupped a hand over his mouth. "Oh Raphael!"

A moment later, Amy appeared in the doorway with Navi floating above her shoulder. "Papa is busy talking to Mitsurugi. Can I take a message?"

Siegfried motioned to the two kids beside him. "These two want gifts. There must be something in that mountain your father brought with him that would appeal to the two of them, right?"

Patroklos tugged at Siegfried's arm. "What does that mean?"

The knight smiled fondly and ruffled the boy's hair again. Patroklos was almost as curious as Link was. It was nice to be reminded of the elf in a pleasant light. "I'm asking her if there's anything you two would like."

"I can check." Amy said quickly, eager to offer up some kind of assistance. "We can all check together if you want."

The children bounded over to the redhead promising them presents. Once they had reached her side they were immediately pulling and tugging her out of the room. Amy looked to Siegfried when he did not get out of bed to join them. After a few more minutes of managing to keep her arms attached to their sockets, despite the children's apparent desire to rip them off, she wondered why he was not even attempting to stand up.

Navi noticed the girl's question, and asked, "You're not coming with us?"

The knight shook his head. "I'm actually a little tired. I want to get a bit more rest before I try to get out of bed. You guys go on ahead."

The children took his excuse at face value and ran off for the room that held their promised treasures. The Alexandra sisters remained.

Cassandra was the first to speak, frowning at the blonde's relaxed form. "You're tired? Still?" The frown deepened at the nod she received. "You've been asleep all day."

"All day?" He could have sworn…he had only…"But the sun's still up."

"Beginning to set I'm afraid." Sophitia added gently. "Mitsurugi and Raphael had to drag you in here earlier on this morning."

"This morning?" He yawned. If he had slept for so long, then why was he still so sleepy? "But I could have sworn that I only closed my eyes for a few seconds. A few hours at the most."

Sophitia looked at Siegfried intently. Something was troubling her, and the look in her eyes told the knight that she was not all that comfortable with what it was. Siegfried tried to see something more, something to identify what it was she was so concerned about, but she turned to Cassandra a moment later. "Go see to the princess."

Cassandra blinked. "What?"

"The poor girl's been sitting outside our kitchen for hours, and she looked just about as tired as Siegfried did. Be a good hostess and show her to a guest room."

Her sister looked as though she wanted to argue. One of Cassandra's most annoying qualities was the constant desire to have knowledge that she should have no right to. It was an inner curiosity that had not faded out since her childhood. Unfortunately for her it was not one of the more polite kinds of curiosity like Link had. Hers came in the form of an overbearing presence and crude to the point questions. Everyone received the same kind of treatment if they had information she desired. Siegfried was no exception, even in his current state. She would want answers from him. Answers he did not know, or remember, at the moment.

"Now Cassandra."

But no one disobeyed Sophitia. Not when she spoke in such a firm tone of voice. Cassandra, even after a lifetime of living side by side with her big sister, was not immune to it. Siegfried supposed it was some kind of divine intervention. Having one sibling to interrogate unjustly, and another to force their sibling to stand down. Cassandra walked out of the room without another word, though she did glance back a couple of times, before she turned into the hallway to do as she had been told.

Sophitia lay Siegfried down on the bed not a second later. The knight, meanwhile, rubbed at his eyes and tried to stop the yawns that were beginning to occur every fifteen seconds.

"Perhaps waking you up was not one of my better ideas," She said while tucking him into bed. "If your history with such situations is anything to go by."

Siegfried settled himself further into the sheets. "I wouldn't have hit you." He said through a yawn. "Or the kids." He said as an afterthought.

"And Cassandra?"

"I make no promises."

She giggled and gave him a pat on the head. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner. A meal in which a family comes together to speak about their day regardless of whether or not they want to because mother says they have to."

Siegfried chuckled a bit through his tired daze. He had missed this woman. He had not realized how much until this moment, but he had missed her nurturing and selfless gentleness. How long had it been since he was cooed and coddled over? "Will you need help with the food?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll drag Mitsurugi and Raphael into the kitchen. They do need to explain the situation to me."

Siegfried made motions to sit up. "I could tell you." He must have been mindlessly exhausted if he was _offering_ to tell this tale. He did not so much as want to think about it during normal circumstances.

"You've exhausted yourself enough," Sophitia told him as she laid him back down. "They're big boys. They can let me know what's going on." She placed a small peck on his forehead, and just like that the matter was settled.

"**I don't envy them,"** He found himself thinking as he saw Sophitia walk out the door. **"That story is not easy to tell. Especially not to a woman."**

* * *

Sophitia wordlessly placed a hand over her heart. She wanted to know that it was still beating. She half expected it not to move. It was somewhat of a surprise to feel its familiar thump within her chest. Was the heart not supposed to stop when news such as this became known?

"I see." She smiled sadly at Mitsurugi and Raphael. "I suppose it was too much to ask for this visit to be a pleasant one. I did have some suspicion. I had just hoped I would be wrong."

The men before her shifted uncomfortably. They had no way of knowing how to handle this particular reaction. What they expected was anger, tears, hysterics, something volatile and out of control. Those they could handle somewhat well. Those they understood perfectly. This, this soft form of depressing acceptance, this was not something they knew how to deal with.

"How long ago did this occur?"

Mitsurugi scratched the back of his head. "Siegfried started this journey about a week ago. The girl has yet to tell us how long before that she began her trek to find him."

Sophitia shook her head. The men in the room got the feeling that she had not really wanted to know how long any of this had been going on. She had asked out of mere obligation, since she would need to know that information to fully comprehend the situation. She probably did not care how long ago any of this had taken place. No answer would have been able to console her. Any lengthy amount of time would have been too much in her book. Even a day would have been too long for Link to suffer through such imprisonment.

"And what exactly is the course of action?"

"First thing's first. We need to gather everyone who had battled against Soul Edge before." The samurai explained. "We must come together to fight against it once more. This time we need to destroy it. Putting it away a second time will do us no good."

"That is easier said than done." Sophitia replied sadly. "We had not been able to destroy it the first time, and simply sealing it had been difficult enough. Siegfried had been able to wield Soul Calibur, and Link had been on our side back then. Ever since that day, the legendary healing blade has yet to appear, and the method of sealing we had originally used left when Link returned to his world."

That was one of the sour details the group had yet to talk about in length. It had been nagging at Mitsurugi since Siegfried had informed him of his very vague plan. The German had yet to elaborate on just what he intended to do once his old group came together again. Did he intend to look for the holy blade? Did they have the time to look for it? Without it, would they even have a chance this time around? Could they find a way to seal Soul Edge away, for good this time, if they were not powerful enough to destroy it all together? Was that even possible? The method they had used that first time had been thought up on the spot. It had been a result of quick thinking and panicked adrenaline. Mitsurugi hardly doubted they could replicate something remotely like it on demand.

"Siegfried has yet to inform me on his next course of action. He's taking this whole mess on one step at a time."

"It's better than our course of action." Raphael admitted. "Had it been up to us, we would have killed the girl long ago without thinking about our actions."

The samurai scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

"How is she, by the way?" Sophitia gently interrupted. "Zelda, I believe her name is?"

The two men looked at each other, and shifted somewhat uncomfortably yet again. "Uh,"

She raised an eyebrow. "I take it not very well? You have been treating her at least somewhat decently haven't you?"

"Yes,"

"Maybe."

"We tried."

"We may have failed?"

Sophitia shook her head. "What I am I going to do with you two?"

Mitsurugi felt his face heat up. "Things were fine for a while. Up until this morning she was treated as politely as could be expected." It was not nearly as polite as they could have been, but the samurai would leave that out for the moment.

"What happened this morning?"

Raphael coughed into his hand. "She may or may not have insinuated that she intended to bring Link back to Hyrule when we found him."

"And how did you incredibly mature men handle that situation?"

Mitsurugi repeated the blonde's action. "Somewhat immaturely I suppose."

"You suppose?" Sophitia asked with a raised brow. "Or you know?"

The two men refused to meet her ever critical eye. In essence they felt like two children who had just disobeyed their parents and had opted to pick on a little girl half their size. That look she was giving them certainly made it seem as though that were the case at hand.

Raphael could never stand the different kinds of looks Sophitia gave him. She had dozens of paths to venture down in order to make the Frenchman feel as though he had been incredibly dumb in any given situation, and they all had a look that could be associated with them. None of them were very fun to look at, doing nothing less than reminding him of the time when he was a child who could be humiliated by his mother's scolding.

"Would it make it any better if I said we were sorry?" He tried meekly, even though the answer was in his mind before Sophitia could verbally let it loose herself.

"What do you think?"

"That it was worth a try?"

Mitsurugi sighed and attempted to think up something to respond with. He could not give the woman in front of him a reason for the way he acted. There was none, and even if there had been, it would not have been _the_ reason for her mistreatment anyway. That was due to his own biased and dislike of the princess' character. The older Alexandra would no doubt realize that. She was not stupid after all.

Sophitia shook her head in disbelief. "I pray that the two of you never get married. I pity the poor women who would have to put up with you."

The two could do nothing to rebuke that statement. Again, if they could, it would do them absolutely no good. You did not win in a situation where you had been wrong to begin with, no matter what the arguments you set forth.

"Do I have to fix this?"

Mitsurugi knew there was a reason why he liked this woman. She was intuitive, and even before he had time to ask she would always know his train of thought. She knew his plan of action before he had time to process the thought. "I'm not saying it's necessary, but it would be a problem if she grew too distant from us. We at least need her to remember that our acquaintanceship is mutually beneficial."

She shook her head again, but this time there was a fond little smile spreading across her face. The two men were already forgiven, and she would no doubt do her part to aid them. "Leave it to me."

The two men let out matching sighs of relief. "We appreciate it."

"Prove it." She stood up. "Help Rothion finish up dinner, and prepare to help Cassandra and I pack for the journey ahead. I should warn you ahead of time. We take the act of packing very seriously, and do not appreciate being told what to bring, and what to leave behind. You have an interesting fight ahead of you."

Mitsurugi nearly bashed his head against the table.

* * *

"This'll be your room, I guess."

Zelda gave a dainty little bow in response. She entered the room slowly, eyes scanning over every aspect of the space she would be staying in. Her gaze held an almost inquisitive grace that truly spoke of her royal lineage. She had an eye for detail, one that was exact and precise in what she wanted in a living space. She would no doubt be able to find flaws within her room in mere seconds, and she would surely make mention of them in no time.

Cassandra stayed near the doorway for that very reason. She knew the room was nothing grand. There was a bed, a couple of windows, and a small bedside table in there for a guest's use. The home she and Sophitia stayed in was nothing compared to the grand estate their parents and younger brother came home to every night. The Alexander sisters, while appreciative of their childhood, had never seen fit to replicate that large house and magnificent garden they had lived in when they were little girls. They liked simple. Simple suited them just fine.

Simple might not have been very suitable for royalty though. Zelda was probably not impressed with her new lodgings. A princess was sure to have more furnishings and leg room in her closet. What the Alexandra family could offer would be nothing to a girl of Zelda's upbringing.

Zelda surprised her, however, by pleasantly smiling after she finished looking around. "It's lovely. Thank you."

Cassandra was quite unsure how to respond. "You're welcome…I guess."

Zelda took a seat on the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress. "I suppose I should apologize."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Siegfried has, by now, told you all about me."

"Not really." The knight had not gotten the chance to say much of anything before he had fallen back asleep. "You didn't come up in conversation." Not that there had been much of a conversation to start with.

"I'm quite surprised. I was sure he would have read you a list of at least a few hundred reasons why I was public enemy number one."

"Siegfried?" The knight was not one to ramble on about other people's faults. He himself was no angel. He had been reminded almost daily of how much blood was residing on his hands. The last thing he ever planned on doing was damning people for their imperfections when he had yet to fix his own.

"I was a bit surprised as well." She smiled kindly. "Our hero had told me much about all of you. He did not mention anything about the knight being so openly hostile."

"Hero? Do you mean Link?"

Zelda nodded, and immediately Cassandra put her full attention on the princess sitting in her guest room. She had not heard of that sweet, blonde haired, blue eyed outsider in years. All she had to remember him by was the medallion he had given her sister. All she had been able to hold onto was the hug and light kiss on her forehead she received as a goodbye. To hear anything about that boy after so many years, even from a third party, was something she found she wanted more than anything.

"He spoke of all of you quite a great deal. I was told of a thief, a ninja, a young priestess,"

One by one Zelda named and described every single member of Link's past traveling companions. She would pause every few seconds for some kind of confirmation, or a small question, but other than that she merely retold Cassandra what she already knew about her old friends. It seemed Link had been very specific about the stories he told her, and from the sound of things he had spoken to her about them often. There was no other way she could have known all of this, no way she could have spoken so confidently if she were not sure of what she was saying.

"Were you close to Link?" Cassandra found herself asking. "You look a bit like him. Are you his sister or something?"

Zelda giggled. "No, we are not related, though his family has served mine in the past. So I suppose you could say we're family friends."

Cassandra nodded. That made sense. Families who had similar positions in life tended to be friendly with one another, and no doubt would introduce their children to each other if they were around the same age. Knowing Link, his family must have been as strong and loyal as he had been. No doubt they would have been favored by the royal family.

"You've known him for a long time, haven't you?"

Zelda nodded. "Several lifetimes tend to make two people very well acquainted with each other."

Something uncomfortable settled into the pit of Cassandra's stomach. In her experience, when a woman was well acquainted with a man, it meant that the two shared a fairly intimate kind of relationship. Link had never spoken about having a girlfriend, but he never talked too much about his personal life with anyone other than Siegfried. Could the Hylian have had a lover and simply neglected to mention it to Cassandra? Had he even wanted to?

"Are you his girlfriend?"

Zelda's eyes widened slightly, only to narrow in confusion a second later. "I beg your pardon?"

Cassandra found herself lightly scratching her cheek. It was a nervous habit she had been a servant to since she was small. "His girlfriend. His lover, his betrothed, his-"

Zelda held up a hand to stop any more suggestions. "Forgive me, but what on earth gave you that impression?"

"Well, I mean, I just assumed,"

Zelda placed her hand down on her lap. She smiled kindly at the Athenian and simply shook her head. "I'm afraid I gave you the wrong impression. Our hero and I are nothing more than friends."

"Really?" The hope in her voice could not be stopped. She barely had time to realize it was even there. Cassandra could only hope the princess had not heard it and thought her too pathetic.

Zelda merely giggled. "If anything I see him as a brother. We know each other a bit too well for anything more."

Cassandra's face became a bright red. "Oh."

The thought of bidding a chaste goodbye and running far away from the fair Hylian seemed like such a tempting option at the moment. Yet, Cassandra could not bring herself to move. She had before her a rare opportunity. Someone close to Link, someone who had known him longer than anyone else in his world, was but a few inches in front of her. Zelda had answers to the questions Cassandra had never managed to ask. Questions the girl was never sure she would get responses to. Now was her chance.

"You knew him well, right?"

"Yes I did."

"Would you mind telling me about him?"

Zelda moved aside on the bed, patting the spot beside her in an invitation for Cassandra to join her. The blonde hesitated slightly, and then decided to forgo any nervousness and take her up on the invitation.

"What is it you would like to know?"

Cassandra thought for a moment. "What's his last name?"

"He has not had a last name in years, but he does have a middle name that seemed to follow him throughout the years."

"What is it?"

Zelda made a show of looking around the room. When she was certain there was no one else there, she whispered a name into Cassandra's ear.

"Rinku?"

Hours began passing between the two. It was an odd sight indeed to anyone who knew of their histories to see them so close, laughing and exchanging stories as though they were old friends. In the back of Cassandra's mind she knew it was somewhat taboo for her to feel so joyful around the princess. She may have been a guest, but she was also the one who had supposedly destroyed Links life over and over again. She just could not help herself.

The more questions she asked, the more responses she received, the more her mind began to change. What if they had all been wrong about Zelda? What if they had misunderstood the villains in the Hylian's story? Zelda seemed so regal and sweet hearted. What Cassandra had originally thought about her could not have been true. If she was so terrible, if she was so cruel, would she have humored the Athenian for so long? Would she have answered all her queries with a smile and a desire to help? She was indeed answering _everything_. Anything from favorite food, favorite past times, favorite people…

"Our hero mentioned your name quite a few times."

Cassandra felt the nearly painful pang that rang throughout her chest. "He did?"

Zelda nodded. "I cannot remember the precise way he worded your presence, but I believe he described it as being akin to the feeling of water on a scorched throat."

Cue the overbearing blush, and fade into the abrupt violent turning of the head. "He was too kind."

She heard the other giggle. "Oh? I don't know. I think he may have been unable to do you enough justice."

Cassandra spent the next few minutes trying to rub the red from her face. Zelda, meanwhile, tried to apologize for her abrupt assumptions through a fit of giggles.

When the room quieted down seconds later, the princess finally saw fit to speak again. "He spoke quite a bit about Siegfried as well."

Cassandra sighed in relief. This was a topic she could talk through without becoming embarrassed about. "I'm not surprised. They were best friends. Link could probably write Siegfried's memoirs himself."

"I don't doubt it, although,"

Cassandra could not help but frown at the hesitant tone. Now that she took a moment to look closely at her, the princess seemed so restless. When her eyes were not focused on the girl beside her, her gaze remained on the floor or on her hands in her lap. Coincidentally, those hands were tightly closed and fisted within the creases of her dress. Her shoulders were tense and would shift nervously every few seconds with just the slightest provocation. It was obvious that she would try to force herself to remain steady whenever she noticed her nervous movements, but it was a futile effort.

"What's the matter?" Cassandra could not imagine doing anything to make the Hylian uncomfortable. They had been getting along well moments before. Something else had to be causing this unease.

Zelda jolted a bit at her host's voice, which only fueled to confuse Cassandra even more. The princess quickly tried to cover up her surprise by laughing. There was no emotion in it. The sound was so empty that it was almost painful. "Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Oh, nothing in particular."

Cassandra had never been too good at reading people on demand. Human beings were too cunning, and could at times be as cold as the stone models of temple deities. Cassandra was often one of the more easily fooled when those around her were being untruthful. However this time it was blatantly obvious. The way the girl spoke, the way she moved, the way her eyes darted from side to side, she was obviously tense about something. There was something that was just not right.

"Tell me. Please?"

Zelda looked torn. For a moment it seemed as though the Athenian would be denied her request, but at last the princess decided to speak. "Siegfried, do you consider him to be a good soul?"

Cassandra blinked. Siegfried was her friend. He had been for a good few years. He may not have been perfect, but he was a good man. "Yeah, I mean, he's not bad or anything. Link liked him a lot."

"It would appear that way, at least it did to me, but as time goes on I have to wonder."

"Wonder?" Cassandra frowned. "About what?"

"It's just that…he's been so hostile towards me. So cruel and nasty…I just don't understand."

"Siegfried?" There was nothing short of complete surprise. "He can be a bit mean sometimes, but never cruel."

Zelda shifted her gaze around the room. Her eyes spent a few seconds longer than necessary staring at the door. "Our hero used to sing the knight's praises so sweetly. I was sure that when I requested his assistance, I would be met with a soul as loving as our hero's ready to help in any way he could. That was not the case."

"What do you mean?"

Zelda looked around nervously once more. Again, she spent a few more moments looking at the door than she needed to. "I'm afraid I must beg for your secrecy on what I'm about to tell you."

"Secrecy from who?"

"Siegfried."

Cassandra could feel a lump overtaking the area around her windpipe. There was emotion welling up inside of her, but for the life of her she could not name what emotion it was. Nervousness? Anxiousness? Reluctance? She did not want to keep a secret from Siegfried. She could not even understand why she would need to. What would the princess tell her that would need to be kept strictly between the two of them?

She agreed nonetheless.

The agreement only relaxed Zelda slightly. Whatever she was worried about made it impossible to fully let loose all the nerves accumulating in her body. "When I began this journey I was given a set of names to search for. Siegfried was one, and he was the first one I found upon entering this world, but there were others who I was told would be good for the leadership of this unfortunate quest. A Mitsurugi, a Sophitia, and Ivy were among the top five. Yours was mentioned as well."

Cassandra knew she should have stopped the blush from appearing on her face. It was just that the thought of her name slipping from Link's lips was too much.

"However, when I made mention of letting the rest of you in on the plan of rescue, he suddenly became very angry. He told me he wanted charge of this mission and that no one would take our hero's attention from him. He told me he would be the hero this time."

Cassandra suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "He said that?"

"Indeed." Zelda said solemnly. "I could not understand his reasoning. He was not being all too clear when he was screaming at me, and I became quite frightened. When I tried to ask him to calm down, he…"

Cassandra placed her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "What did he do?"

Zelda clamped her eyes shut and rolled up one of the sleeves on her dress. Circling the entire area of her wrist was a dark blue and slightly purple bruise. It looked painful, and to Cassandra's horror, it looked fresh.

"He warned me of what would happen if I defied him. Yet I did not see fit to listen. I again asked him to reconsider his position on the subject. I even asked, if he was so against another male being in charge of this endeavor, to enlist the help of one of the female companions our hero had suggested. I believe I suggested your name though I did not know you at the time. I was merely repeating a name I had heard most often. He did not take it so well."

Cassandra felt a dark feeling swelling up in the pit of her stomach. "Did he do anything else?"

"He only ever marked me one other time. This one is on my back, though I do not wish to reveal it if it is alright with you."

Cassandra honestly did not want to see further proof of her friend's surprising violence. "On your back? That's a type of mark you can't just hide. Hasn't Mitsurugi seen it? Hasn't Raphael?"

"They did inquire about it once," Zelda sighed tiredly. "He told them I received it from falling off of Epona. They believed him without further discussion."

"Just like that? Why didn't you tell them the truth?"

"Honestly?" Cassandra nodded. "I began to think it was my fault. After the second assault, he attempted no more abuse of the physical kind. He resorted to verbal and emotional instead. He likes to hit below the belt, as I soon discovered, and did not pull any metaphorical punches with me. He has very strong, hurtful opinions on the way I had lived in my past lives. Anything he could say to bring me pain, he did. Needless to say, after a fairly short while I stopped trying to have him desist."

Cassandra was shaking now. A growing rage was quickly filling the spaces between her veins.

"I'm sorry to have to reveal this to you. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so, but I felt almost compelled to do so."

"Why?" Cassandra's voice was oddly calm. It belied the intense feeling she was developing for the knight sleeping somewhere else in the house.

"If his rage hinders this journey in any way, I honestly believe you can be someone to force it back to action. Our hero always believed in you, and perhaps that is why Siegfried was so upset when I mentioned your name."

Cassandra did not answer. For ten minutes she did not so much as utter a sound. The workings of her mid were slowly being twisted and bent by the words of the girl sitting in front of her. At one point she was forced to take her hands from the princess' shoulders, lest the fists they turned into cause the Hylian to suffer anymore than she already had.

More than she had suffered from _Siegfried's_ hands. On _Link's_ name. After he had specifically asked for _Cassandra_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a semi soft knocking at her door. It was Zelda who ushered the knocker inside. Her companion was in no state to do so. In walked Patroklos, smile large and eyes bright. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Just like Link's.

"Auntie, Miss Guest, mama said dinner is ready."

Zelda smiled kindly. "Oh is it? Are we terribly late then?"

The boy shook his head. "Everyone's there already, but we're still getting the table set. Oh! Auntie, mama said it's your turn to get the water."

"We'll be there shortly." The princess assured the boy. "You go on ahead of us."

Patroklos nodded and bounded off, calling his sister's name and asking what he was supposed to do next. Cassandra had yet to move.

Zelda gently shook her shoulder. "Cassandra? Are you alright?"

The girl was finally shaken enough to come out of her own inner world. "Yeah, I'm fine." She turned to Zelda, a half hearted smile playing on her lips. "Why don't you go on ahead to dinner? I'll be there soon."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Zelda nodded. With a smile and a small bow she made her way outside the room. Cassandra stood not long after. Her body went through the motions of completing the task she had been given. She considered it a blessing, as her mind was far to occupied with rampant and angry thoughts to be bothered by such a thing.

As her feet touched the ground outside, she was reminded of how Link always completed this specific chore when he was in Athens. Rothion never gave him anything harder to complete because he saw the boy as a frail little thing that needed to be handled delicately. It was a gross misunderstanding. It would have bothered Cassandra to be so terribly underestimated. The Hylian never minded, or if he did, he never let that irritation show. He simply smiled and did all he could to help.

"You were like that with everybody." She whispered to herself as she began pumping water into the wooden bucket that was kept beside it. "Especially with Siegfried."

Now that she thought about it, the knight had always taken up a good chunk of Link's life here in her world. The Hylian always found himself paired with the knight in fights, was the others first pick when a partner was needed to gather information, and was never cruel enough to refuse passing up any free time he may have had for Siegfried if he asked him to. Where there was one, there was always the other.

But had that been a mutual agreement? Or had that been merely nothing more than an enforced suggestion on Siegfried's part? Cassandra had never thought him to be a violent person, but that bruise, the serious way the princess had talked about her injuries. Everything about the knight's character was suddenly coming into question.

Her feet moved of their own accord. Cassandra had barely even realized that the bucket had become full. She had most likely subconsciously counted down the seconds it usually took for her to fill the wooden tool to the rim, and then quickly went about bringing it to its destination. She could care less right then if it really was or was not filled to her older sister's expectations. Again, her mind had more pressing matters to see too.

Was Siegfried the type of person to harm a lady? To hurt someone who could not obviously fight back?

Could he have done the same thing to Link?

Her breath completely left her at that point. Her mind released a set of thoughts so horrific, so inhumane, the lack of oxygen she received when mentally viewing them could have sent her to the floor. Link had worn clothing that could cover any scar. He was good at the perfection of false smiles, and it took nearly a lifetime to unravel them. Could he have been under constant abuse as well?

Her eyes only returned to their normal working order right before she entered the doorway to the kitchen. Numbly, she took in the picture in front of her. Sophitia and Rothion had either food or wine ready to be served to their guests. Mitsurugi and Zelda sat on one side of the kitchen table. Amy was over by the doorway opposite of the room, Navi flying over her shoulder, saying something about finding the other children. Her father, Raphael, sat opposite of Mitsurugi at the table, laughing at something next to…him.

Siegfried, apparently woken up from his slumber to join the rest of them for dinner, was sitting down at the table. He too was laughing. Laughing, when the girl he abused was but a few feet away from him. Laughing, even though the people around him were slowly fooled into believing that he had become a victim in this entire mess. Link was chained up in Hyrule, suffering, helplessly holding out for any kind of rescue that would hopefully come for him in time. And through all of that deception and pain Siegfried was sitting there. Laughing.

Cassandra could not stop herself from what she did next. She violently turned the bucket of water over and let every frigid drop land on Siegfried's head.

* * *

Siegfried felt an annoyed sense of nostalgia wash over him as water was suddenly dropped directly over his head. If Zelda had not been sitting directly opposite of him, he would have believed her to be the culprit. Confused, and a bit aggravated, he leaned back a bit to see Cassandra hovering over him with an empty wooden bucket in her hands. She looked absolutely livid.

"Is this some kind of hint that I need to take a bath?"

She responded by trying to slam the object down on his head. Siegfried's instincts kicked in at the last second, having the bucket narrowly miss the base of his head by a mere centimeter. Everyone else in the room stared on in shock as the wood splintered completely against the stone floor. Hell had no fury like a woman scorned.

Siegfried just looked annoyed. "What the hell was that for?"

"As if you don't know!"

Siegfried rolled his eyes. "Listen, I'm in no mood to play games with you."

"You were more than happy enough to play them with Link."

Those who were not silent before, had certainly lost any ability to speak at that moment.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

Siegfried pushed himself up from his seat, hand gripping the top of his chair so tightly it was almost ready to crack. "Do you have something you want to discuss with me?" His tone was low, dangerous in a sense that it gave memory to the days where his calm rage could overtake him in an instant.

She narrowed her eyes at him. She was not afraid. She knew that whatever threat was present in his voice was empty. He would not dare hurt her. She hoped. "As a matter of fact I do."

"You've got a big enough mouth." He said lowly, moving closer to her. He knew the girl's bark was worse than her bite. She would back off soon enough. "Use it."

She pushed at him. The purpose was to put some distance between the two of them, to try and deepen the rift she wanted to maintain throughout her argument. It did her no good, Siegfried was much stronger than she was, and did not appear to be a means by which to separate the two. What it looked like was a sign that she was raring and ready to come to blows. The knight could very well take it that way and react accordingly. Whatever move he made would be intentionally threatening.

Still, she stood proudly and looked him dead in the eye. She was certain in her gaze with no qualms about what she was starting. Her confidence, or arrogance depending on how the situation was looked at, was her strongest weapon.

"I should congratulate you. You're a wonderful actor. Playing the role of an angel when you're really a demon in disguise."

He raised an eyebrow. "Angels and demons? Shouldn't you be focusing on Gods and Goddesses? Nymphs and deities and all that?"

She turned a furious bright red. "Shut up!"

He rolled his eyes. Cassandra was no good in logical arguments. She was fine as long as her opponent had no idea about what she was talking about. If they were smarter than the average farm animal, however, she was about as skilled in tongue as a newborn was in ancient Latin.

"Is there a point to all this? Like I said, I'm in no mood for games."

"You were more than in the mood for them when Link was here."

Siegfried narrowed his eyes. Why did she keep bringing Link into the conversation? Whatever was happening here had nothing to do with Link. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Wasn't that your plan all along? Force the rest of us to the background so you could play the hero? Isn't that why you were so adamant about talking charge?"

"Did you hit your head on something? You're more of an airhead than usual."

"Better than a space case of violent thoughts for one of the kindest of beings."

The two of them had, at this point, gotten right into the others face. Neither of them cared to back down. Not when they could see the anger and pure rage flashing through green and blue eyes, feeding their own foul emotions.

"You accusing me of something?" He wanted her to say it. She would take the blame for starting this. He would not take the fall for her. He was in mood to deal with her. Not today of all days.

"Took you long enough to figure it out."

"Your explanations are like your subtleties. They never make a damn word of sense and are about as full of it as the girl they come out of!"

"Oh yeah! Well-"

A small cough was enough to bring the blondes attention away from the argument at hand. They soon realized that they had a small audience surrounding them. Mitsurugi, Raphael, and Zelda were still sitting at the table, eyes slightly widened and unsure of how to react to the fight before them. Sophitia stood frozen by the table beside Rothion. Amy blinked repeatedly by the doorway where she and Navi had been about to exit from. None of them made a sound.

Siegfried and Cassandra turned to the other, and then turned to the people watching them. They each held up a hand in a 'wait here' gesture, before running off to another room and slamming the door behind them.

Siegfried made sure no one had followed them before turning his attention back to Cassandra. "Just what did you think you were doing out there?"

"Making sure you understood how bad it felt."

"How bad what felt?" He would never understand women. They very rarely, if ever, said exactly what was on their minds. They beat around the bush, spoke in vague responses, and then got mad when men could not decipher their puzzle of a complaint. Honestly, they could drive a man of sound mind to insanity with all of their none-too-slightly confusing mind games. It was a wonder man and woman could get together in marriage to begin with. He would remember to congratulate Rothion and Sophitia with extra vigor when their anniversary came around that year.

"Alright, since you obviously cannot get this yourself, I'll tell you. You, sir, are a liar."

He could not stop himself from gaping. "Were you dropped on your head as a child? You make less and less sense as time goes on."

She ignored him. "She told me everything. She told me about your first encounter with her and how you selfishly took charge of this rescue mission for your own sake. It sounded kind of pathetic to me at first, as you never seemed like the manipulative kind to me, but then it started to make sense."

That was more than he could say for the flow of this conversation.

"You really wanted him to see you. You wanted all of his attention on you at all times. You wanted to be his hero."

He had a sneaking suspicion of who Cassandra was referring to.

"But with the rest of us here, you couldn't be. You were second place. So now this time around, you decided to push everyone off to the side and take the glory for yourself. You rescue him and all of his affection will be for you."

He did not like the way this conversation was going. Something about her accusations was putting him on edge. They sounded too much like Zelda's. "What are you talking about? That's not what I'm doing at all."

"Oh aren't you? Why not let Mitsurugi take charge? Or Sophitia?"

No. He did not want them taking charge. Link had asked for him. "Because it's not their responsibility." None of them could have been nearly as invested in this as he was anyway. They could not have been nearly as heartbroken as he was. Right?

"What makes it yours? Tell me Siegfried, what on earth makes this rescue mission rest on your shoulders alone?"

"Link asked for me." Didn't he? He was certain the elf had. That was why Zelda came to him in the first place. That was what she told him. Wasn't it?

"Just for you?"

He had not really asked Zelda about that. He could have sworn at the time that his had been the only name called. "Yes." He hated how unsure he sounded. Cassandra would catch onto his doubt quickly, and she would certainly use it to her advantage.

"You sure about that?" She asked, eyebrow raised and a challenge in her voice.

"What does that matter to you?" He was losing his edge, he realized somewhat bitterly, and if he did not think of a clever argument quickly enough, Cassandra would get an advantage. And it would be a cold day in hell before he let her win a verbal fight against him. "Whether or not I was the only one called, he at least asked for me. That's more than I can say for you."

Perhaps that may have been a low blow, if the way her eyes shook was anything to go by. Her gaze alone told him that his comment would, on any other day, give her more than enough reason to cry. Cassandra hated being second place in anything. Being anything less than number one was a disgrace for her and she no doubt hated the thought of being a mere second best in someone else's heart, especially Link's. He had been, or so Siegfried had been informed, the first man she had ever become smitten with.

"You really do hit below the belt." Cassandra said at last. "She wasn't lying."

Siegfried knew something was about to come back and bite him. "Who wasn't lying?"

"Zelda. She said that you didn't particularly like to play fair. She was right." The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "Meaning that she was right about everything else."

Oh of course. That would explain everything. He knew letting that girl get too comfortable in his world would come back to haunt him eventually. Now that she felt somewhat safe around Siegfried she thought she could start moving in on his territory. Zelda now knew the knight would not touch her. Even though she knew she could not lay a hand on him in return, there were others ways of damaging him in retaliation for his actions towards her.

She knew that he had distanced himself from his old team. She knew that that would cause some to stop and wonder if he had changed over the years. Change into a different Siegfried than the one they already knew. He had told her himself that some of the old group members had held Link in secret spaces inside of their hearts, meaning that they were more likely to respond to her if she made herself seem to be his beloved ally. He had also involuntarily told her which member would be the easiest to fool if the circumstances mentioned above were taken into consideration and molded into a weapon to deceive.

Again, she could not touch Siegfried, but the other members of his old team were not out of the question.

From there it was simple child's play. A few mishandled truths mixed in with some very small boosts of the wrong kind of motivation, and one very manipulative princess could have her least favorite German in some very painful situations. The damn brat.

"You can't be serious Cassandra. You cannot be standing in front of me defending the person solely responsible for Link's predicament. Even you can't be this dumb."

Cassandra seemed to be getting surer of herself as the seconds flew by. That was unusual. She was in the wrong here. She was the one who had no clue what she was saying. Yet she was the one standing confidently before him. There was something immensely wrong with that picture. "You blame her when you have yet to get all the facts. You only heard what you wanted to when she tried to explain things to you, didn't you?"

It was then that Siegfried heard the pitter patter of tiny feet beyond the doorway. There were two people who had become curious about the noises coming from closed doors and had decided to investigate. Amy would not have thought about following them after what she had witnessed in the kitchen. No normal person would. But there were two small nosey little tykes who had not seen the initial confrontation between the two blondes, and they alone would be curious enough about the noise to try and seek out what was going on.

"End of argument." Siegfried said firmly, turning to the door. "We'll finish this later."

He was pulled back by Cassandra's surprisingly strong grasp on his wrist. "We finish this now."

Siegfried nearly felt frantic when he heard the doorknob turn. This was not something he wanted Patroklos and Pyrrha to bear witness to. "Take your pride down a notch and let go. We've got company."

"I don't mind an audience."

Siegfried did. Especially when said audience included a seven and eight year old pair of siblings. His words had already brought one little girl to tears. He did not want two more sets of eyes to water by his actions. "I'm warning you, let me go. Now."

"You can't scare me like you did her. I can see right through you."

Siegfried had a very bad feeling about the look in Cassandra's eyes. It was accusing him, marking him as a target. In that instance she was a predator eyeing a piece of prey that should logically be beyond her reach. Just what was going on here?

"You just could not stand sharing him could you?"

Siegfried's heart nearly combusted when the door was finally opened. As he suspected, Pyrrha and Patroklos had come looking for them.

"Let go." He whispered harshly, but the words had been spoken one too many times already. They had no affect on Cassandra. She would not relinquish her hold.

"No."

Siegfried felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He did his best to look calm and collected when he turned to see which child had done it. Patroklos was standing beside his sister, his hand fisted in the cloth of Siegfried's shirt.

"Uncle Siegfried, mama said it was time for dinner."

The knight could have cursed up a storm right then. The children had been sent to retrieve everyone for dinner. Siegfried had already gotten up on his own, and followed his nose to the kitchen before they had gotten a chance to reach his room. They must have started searching for him the moment they noticed his bed was empty. They were probably still looking when they heard him yelling. The volume of his voice had to have been what led them there. He should have just stayed in bed.

Siegfried tried to smile, tried to hide the panic he was feeling, but the gesture came out as nothing more than a grimace. "Uh, I know. I was just getting Cassandra."

The boy took notice of his uncle's wrist locked inside of his aunt's hand. The frown deepened. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Siegfried was loathe to admit that the word had come out much more forcibly than he had intended it to. As a result, the little boy flinched and took a step back.

His sister, however, took a step forward. "Are you two fighting?"

Siegfried shook his head, praying to whatever celestial being was listening, that it did not look half as frantic as it seemed. "No, we're not fighting. We're just…having an intense conversation."

Cassandra chose then, of all times, to open her mouth again. "You just can't seem to tell _anybody_ the truth, can you? You would even lie to children!"

Siegfried harshly shushed her.

Pyrrha saw right through the act. "You are fighting!"

Patroklos regained his courage and ran right up to his aunt's side. He took hold of the hand tightly squeezing onto Siegfried's wrist and tried to dislodge it. "Auntie, let him go."

Pyrrha meanwhile grabbed hold of Siegfried's arm. She tried, with all the strength her young body could muster, to pull him away from Cassandra. "That's enough."

It broke Siegfried's heart. "Cassandra, stop it." He tried to pull his arm away again, and was frustrated to see that Cassandra was somehow still stronger than him at this point. She was even pulling him in her direction.

"You aren't getting away from this Siegfried."

Patroklos started to whine. "I'm telling mama!" A child's favorite threat and a tool used to stop a situation from going too far. The knight truly wished it would help in this case.

Alas, Cassandra just kept tugging and glaring. Siegfried and Pyrrha kept being dragged further towards the Athenian, and poor Patroklos kept trying to tug everybody apart. His whines grew louder, soon joined by his sisters, and tears began falling from his eyes. He pleaded with Cassandra to tell him what was going on, but she just ignored him.

After two minutes of listening to him cry, she raised her hand to push him away. Siegfried, for two frightening seconds, thought she was going to hit him.

"Don't!"

He made a reach for Patroklos, hoping to pull the child over to his side of the room, but Cassandra reached the boy before he did and shoved him beside her. She kept him there with the hand not currently trapping Siegfried.

"What, you going to hurt him too?"

Panic flashed through the knight's eyes. Did the two children in the room believe that? Cassandra obviously did. "I would **never** do **anything** to hurt them. You know that!"

"I thought I knew you too, but now I'm not so sure. You hurt her. What makes the kids any different?"

Hurt her? "Hurt who?"

"Zelda. I saw that mark on her wrist."

Siegfried gulped. He _knew_ acting on his rage was going to get him into trouble eventually, especially when the princess was involved. "You saw that?"

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "How could I not see it? It was as big as her wrist, Siegfried! How could you do such a thing?"

"It was an accident!" He tried to defend himself. "I didn't mean to hold on that hard."

"She's a toothpick compared to you Siegfried! You should have known what a 'small grip' from you would do!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"And what about the mark on her back?"

"Mark on her-what?"

"There is apparently a large bruise on her back from when you attacked her out of misplaced rage. You tell everyone she got it from falling off Epona."

That little! "She did fall off Epona! Or rather, Epona bucked her off."

"Oh really? That horse has always been well behaved. You expect me to believe she would buck off a princess of her own land?"

"She's obviously a good judge of character."

Cassandra yanked Siegfried towards her one more time. Siegfried nearly fell forward onto his face. Pyrrha, who had been holding onto the knight's arm, unfortunately did happen to fall to the ground. She landed on the floor, made of nothing more than concrete, with a loud _thump_ right on her knee. The pain was severe enough to make her cry.

Siegfried tried to reach for her. Cassandra finally let go of her nephew and used her free hand to latch onto the knight's chin. She forced his head to remain steady.

"She was confused as to why you were acting so harsh. You were so good to Link that she couldn't imagine you being so terrible. There didn't seem to be a reason to her. But I know why."

Siegfried could not fathom why his strength was suddenly so far away from him. He was stronger than Cassandra. He should have been able to throw her off of him. Any other time he would have been able to toss her aside with no problem or question as to whether or not he could. He had no idea why that strength was failing him now. He had a nagging feeling it had something to do with the way his heart and mind, instead of using common sense to get him out of the situation at hand, were instead panicking beyond a reasonable, controllable, level.

"You were jealous of her."

Siegfried tried to scoff. He was almost certain the gesture did not come off as he wanted. "Why would I be jealous of that miserable excuse of a princess?"

"You were in love with him."

Siegfried was now desperately trying to get away. He suddenly wanted to leave the room **immediately**. The moment the word 'love' was brought forth from her mouth, cold, calm and composed, he felt something ring throughout his chest.

It must have been similar, if not exactly as the same, as the ring Nightmare had heard when Siegfried regained his consciousness. The sound of a heart awakening to feelings buried deep within it, and bursting with the withheld emotions. Siegfried's heart had awoken once to freedom, but he dared not think about what this second awakening would mean.

"_You have a human heart, I'm sure of it."_

"You were in love with him and she was threatening that. We were all threatening that."

"_I trust you."_

"And you couldn't have that could you? You didn't want to take the risk."

"_I love you Siegfried!"_

Siegfried tried to turn his face. Tried to shake his head to rid it of the voice taking it over. That noise was sweet torture, and he did not need to hear it right at that moment.

Cassandra forced his head to turn to the opposite direction. Blue eyes gazed upon a mirror, what she must have been trying to lead him to all along. The room was starting to spin. Patroklos was whining, Pyrrha was still crying on the floor, footsteps were now rushing towards the room, and Siegfried was suddenly feeling sick of his own reflection. The more he continued to stare, the sicker he became.

"Look at yourself. Do you honestly think he could ever return that love?" She asked coldly. "Forget the fact that you're another man, which is disturbing enough as it is, but you're a violent person."

Siegfried was beginning to see a very frightening image in that mirror. Link was there, but he was frowning, as though he were disappointed in him. And suddenly, a whole new set of voices was barking out at him from the far regions of his mind.

"_Creature!"_

"_Beast!"_

"_Vermin!"_

"You've made people suffer because you couldn't keep your temper in check."

Link was shivering in that mirror now. He was afraid. Afraid of Siegfried.

"_This is all your fault!"_

"_You aren't human!"_

"_Murderer!"_

"You didn't have the nerve to ask him to stay the last time because you knew he wouldn't listen to you."

That was not true. He would have stayed. Right? "Shut up."

"He wanted to get away from you. He wanted to go home."

"_You deserve to die!"_

"_May you burn for all the sins you've committed."_

"Shut up."

"He didn't want to be anywhere near you. None of us ever wanted to come within five feet of you. And I guarantee that once this gets out no one ever will again. And do you know why?"

That image was starting to change. The glass no longer held blonde hair and blue eyes cowering away from Siegfried's gaze. No, what was in there was much, much worse.

"_Vile."_

"_Disgrace."_

"_Heretic."_

It was Nightmare, laughing at him from the glass.

"It's because you're a monster!"

"_Monster!"_

"I told you to shut up!"

His strength finally saw fit to return to him, masked in the gear of intense rage. He yanked forward the hand Cassandra had been holding onto and slammed it against the mirror. Hers had been the one to take the brunt of the impact, and as such dozens of little shard had wedged themselves into her hand, bypassing the cloth of her gloves. Others had scattered amongst the ground, too small and damaged to be repaired. The image Siegfried had seen was gone.

But so, in turn, was the delusion that Siegfried had been fighting something within that mirror, and not, instead, someone who was made of flesh and blood.

It was the wailing that brought him back to his senses. Both Patroklos and Pyrrha had started sobbing as soon as their aunt's fist hit the glass. Cassandra had let go of him in favor of clutching the hand imbedded with glass shards to her chest. She was crying now too.

He had done this. He had singlehandedly caused all of this.

"No! Wait," His head whipped back and forth between children and adult. "I-I didn't mean to—I-"

The door slammed open moments later. Mitsurugi was the first to enter, followed closely behind by Sophitia. He went straight for Cassandra and Siegfried. She took one look at her children and was by their side in mere milliseconds. Raphael and Rothion stood still by the door. The room was far too tense, and the fathers did not have the courage to venture off any further. Not when they saw the small scene that lay within it.

"What the hell is going on here?" The samurai was quick to take notice of Cassandra's injury. "What happened to you?"

Siegfried looked down to the ground. He could still hear the children crying from the floor, even though Sophitia did her best to soothe them. He had done it again. He had caused innocent children to suffer, and this time he had actually gone and hurt someone.

"I'm sorry." Was as he could manage to force out of his mouth before he turned and bolted out of the room. No one could make a move to grab him.

Sophitia shushed and cooed at her children. They refused to be consoled. "What happened, Cassandra? Why are you hurt?"

Cassandra grumbled under her breath through the sting of the glass. "It was his fault."

Mitsurugi raised his eyebrows. "What? His fault for what?"

"Ask Zelda."

Sophitia frowned. "Zelda? What do you mean?"

The samurai mirrored the blonde's expression. "Zelda? What does she have to do with this?"

Cassandra tried to pick out a piece of glass from her hands. "She told me everything, and when I confronted Siegfried about it he blew up."

Now the samurai's eyes narrowed. "Cassandra, tell me you didn't start a fight with Siegfried because of something Zelda said." She did not answer him. "Answer me."

"He started it!"

The man let out a frustrated sigh. "This is just great. What did you say?"

"None of your business."

Sophitia rose from the floor at once. "If I know her it wasn't anything pretty. He needs someone to talk to and fast." The mother ran out into the hallway, looking towards the direction where she had seen the knight run off to. "He would stay inside. He wouldn't leave the grounds, not until he's sure my children are alright. He'll most likely be on the other side of the house."

Mitsurugi nodded. "Should I go after to him?"

She shook her head. "It would be better if I were to speak with him. Can you take care of Cassandra?"

He nodded.

"Raphael, please make sure Amy's alright, she most likely has questions, and do **not** touch the princess. Rothion, please explain the situation to Pyrrha and Pat and then quickly put them to bed. They'll need their rest. After that, guard Zelda's room. Is that clear?" She waited for the two men to nod in confirmation before she bounded off.

"Sophitia."

She turned around and gave an impatient hum in response.

Mitsurugi rubbed at his forehead. "After you calm him down, can you make me a drink so I can forget this night ever existed?"

Sophitia nodded before running off once more.

* * *

It did not take her that long to find him. She had been right in assuming that he would run all the way to the other side of the, though not very grand, large estate. She had searched quickly, opened every door with a speed unknown to mankind, and had listened with a hearing nearly as good as a Hylian's. She was going to find him one way or another, and he should have known it would have happened sooner rather than later. When she finally did find him, he had slumped down against a wall of a dead end hallway.

He must have looked so pathetic at that moment. Sitting on a dirty floor, curled up in a small ball, not saying a single word, and looking absolutely anywhere but straight at Sophitia. His father must have been so proud of what his only son had become.

"I don't want to talk about it." He whispered, more for his benefit than for hers.

Truth be told, he really did feel the need to talk. His head was spinning with unconfirmed suspicions and denials of realized truths. It hurt. It hurt so much that even the pain in his heart was pushed to the side in his attempts to sort out the focus of his mind. He was confused. He was uncertain. He needed some kind of understanding. He needed someone to tell him what it all meant, someone like Sophitia.

She was a mother. She had two little kids in her life who were imperfect, but they were two little souls she loved more than anything else in the world. She did not judge them. She did not condemn them. She simply loved and accepted them for who they were. A true mother indeed who protected her children from their worst enemy. Themselves. Siegfried's mother had been like that too. She had been warm and kind, like the gentle breeze on a spring morning.

Her presence was what he remembered now more than anything. He was certain that if her memory were to ever begin to fade, what she looked like or what her voice used to sound like, that presence was what he would never forget. The way her arms used to hold him tight, how he knew it was her embracing him though he had not had the time to check. The way that simply listening to her heartbeat was reassurance enough that he was alright in whatever he was doing. He had told that woman everything. Crushes he used to have, confusions that used to arise in him, lost faith that he did not want to obtain again, she knew everything about him. Even secrets that Siegfried's father had not been allowed to realize about his son were tucked away in his mother's heart. She, more than anyone, made her child feel as though nothing would harm him. Not as long as she was there to protect him.

Sophitia had that kind of presence too. It almost made Siegfried want to blurt out everything that was bothering him. Almost. The only thing stopping him from doing so was his own stubbornness and the cold hard fact that the woman before him was _not_ his mother.

"I don't want to talk about it." He repeated, like he wanted to emphasize the point by saying it a second time.

She smiled softly before plopping down next to him. She said nothing for a moment, causing him to look at her questioningly. She continued to smile. "That's alright. We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to."

"The floors dirty." He told her. It was a rather pathetic way to tell her to go away. His voice was not even firm. "You'll ruin that outfit." Girl's cared about that kind of thing, right?

She just laughed a little. "I've got others like it. You learn to keep a wide stock of clothing when you have two children."

Speaking of which, "How are they? My fight with Cassandra really upset them."

"They're just a bit confused right now. They'll be alright once the situation is explained to them."

"I didn't mean to make them cry."

"I know that." She assured him. "You would never hurt anyone intentionally."

She thought too highly of him. He was nowhere near that just. Cassandra had pointed that out all too well. "I hurt 'her' intentionally."

"Who? Zelda?"

He nodded. "It felt pretty damn good at the time too."

"And how does it feel now?"

He tightened the hold on his legs. "Like a hollow victory." More like a sour taste in his mouth. Cassandra sure knew how to dig those kinds of emotions out of him. "Honestly, it felt like being scolded by my father after hitting a girl."

Sophitia ruffled his hair. Siegfried usually did not take kindly to the action. He was not a vain person by any means, but he did take some pride in his appearance. Most of which was his hair. He, for some reason, did not appreciate people touching it at any time. Even if they meant well, most people would just make a mess of it until the knight was left looking like a greasy mess of a man who did not know the concept of proper hygiene.

Link was the only person ever allowed to touch Siegfried's hair without question because he did not abuse the privilege. He only took advantage of it on two occasions. The first of which was to fix and adjust it in case Siegfried had failed to do so properly on his own. The second was when the elf was nervous about something and needed a distraction to keep himself busy.

The first instance did not bother the knight in the slightest. His short hair had taken some getting used to. It was an entirely different experience than managing his previous style and he had been clueless about how to go about dealing with it the first time. Link was used to shorter hair. He knew how to fix and play around with it until it looked decent enough. He knew better than Siegfried, at least, so it was a blessing when the elf took it upon himself to fix it for his oblivious German friend. Siegfried could not even begin to count the many embarrassing days Link had saved him from.

The second instance was something he had allowed for Link's sake more than his own. The younger blonde, despite how courageous he was, could get very nervous when situations got too tense or uneasy. His hands would often get jittery, sweaty, and disgusting if he did not quickly find a way to occupy them. The first time he turned to Siegfried's hair for a distraction was also the day he had seen his first bar fight.

The two of them had been traveling with Seong Mina, Yunseong, and Talim during what had to have been the second month of their journey to find Soul Edge. During their second week together, the group had dropped in at a local bar to try and gather information. While inside, Yunseong partook in multiple games of cards in an effort to earn a bit of pocket cash that he could use for himself. The longer the games dragged on, and the more money he won, the quicker an enraged drunk was able to accuse him of cheating. After a few more games the man refused to pay what he had lost. Yunseong would have none of that, and neither would Seong Mina who was egging him on from the sidelines.

Siegfried saw it coming before anyone else had. The tension in the room was soon fueled by other less than sober customers. It thickened, becoming more and more volatile by the second. At its peak, Siegfried decided to pull Link and Talim out of the bar. The other two could handle themselves. The teenagers he latched onto would be unable to take a bar house brawl.

The first strike was thrown just as the three of them had walked out the door. Not long after that, the noises had become increasingly louder in volume and more intense in execution. Siegfried thought nothing of the growing chaos. Back when he was a young knight, his old comrades used to drag him off to bars all the time. Once there, they would quickly immerse themselves in the ancient art of binge drinking and bar brawling. None of them had ever known how to drink correctly, or understood when they were well past their limits. Siegfried had learned by the third outing when to spot those breaking points and the subsequent fights that came from them. By the fourth outing he knew the perfect time to leave so as to not get involved. By the fifth outing he had ceased to feel guilty about leaving his platoon to fend for themselves, and simply relaxed while waiting for the fights to come to an end.

That night he had lain comfortably on his back atop a circular fountain located near the entrance of the bar. Talim stood a few feet away from him, though still directly within his eyesight per his demand, flinching every so often when she heard Yunseong's voice or when a glass could be heard shattering. Link sat beside him, looking on just as nervously.

Siegfried, soon bored with how long the fight was taking, had been about to fall asleep. That was when he felt them. Nimble fingers threading themselves through his hair. Startled, he looked up and saw that it was Link. The elf's blue eyes were still glued to the building his friends were fighting in, and his hand had decided to busy itself in his anxiousness.

Link had no idea what he was doing, he was more focused on whether or not the two redhead's in the bar would come out alright, and probably would have continued on in perfect obliviousness had he not noticed Siegfried's gaze. Once the two did meet each other's eye, Link quickly turned a fetching shade of red before immediately taking back his hand.

Siegfried had suddenly grown cold at the loss of contact. Link looked guilty, like he had done something to seriously offend Siegfried. The knight had not minded. Really, he had just been a bit surprised was all, and all the blonde had done was mess with his hair. Again, no major sin committed. Link did not have to look so ashamed about it. He did nothing wrong.

Not quite sure how to make the other feel better, the knight let his instinct take over. HHhoihHe pushed himself closer towards the elf and placed his head in the teenagers lap. He then gently placed the gloved hand back to his hair and closed his eyes. Link did not move at first. He was too shocked by Siegfried's bold move to do anything other than just sit there. However, after a short minute in which he turned every possible shade of red imaginable, he continued to run his hand through the knight's hair.

It soon became routine. Link would get nervous. Siegfried would offer himself to be at the elf's disposal. The boy would be comforted, and all would be well in moments. In time the action became a gesture used to calm both of them down, and offer a small amount of comfort when times were uncertain. The two of them, dare he say it, even looked forward to the occasion when they could bond in such an innocent way.

This, admittedly, was not either of the two instances where Siegfried enjoyed having his hair touched, and Sophitia was not Link, but…

"I'm doing it again." Siegfried groaned out miserably.

"Doing what again?"

Going against all thoughts of modern day creation? Committing a form of blasphemy? Possibly tainting the most holy being in his world with simple thought? Questioning everything he once thought was innocent affection thanks to Cassandra's big mouth? "Thinking of Link."

"What's wrong with that? He's your friend, and he's not in the best of circumstances right now. Why wouldn't you think of him?"

He nearly cringed. If only his thoughts were as harmless as she believed. "Lately these thoughts…have not exactly been… "friendship" oriented."

"Come again?"

He realized a moment too late how terrible that must have sounded. He quickly tried to amend what he had said. "What I mean is-what I was really trying to say was-" He wished she would stop looking at him like that. Her questioning gaze, though fueled by concern, was just making him nervous. "They're more…not about friendship?"

He hated himself. He sincerely hated himself. The world would have done him an absolute favor by opening up and swallowing him whole. Then he would not have to worry about his ridiculous tendency to overstate the obvious which was only managing to make him look like an idiot.

Sophitia tilted her head. "They're not about friendship? So Link isn't your friend?"

"That's not what I mean."

He was starting to get frustrated. He had never been any good at this sort of thing, explaining what was bothering him in any given situation. As a knight he had not needed to. Nobody would honestly care, and it was considered whining if you spoke too loosely about emotions other than anger and rage. He had never done too much of it when Link was around either. The elf never really asked him to. Link just seemed to know what his friend was thinking. He would always be the one to pull some decent sense from the jumbled mass of thoughts and– dammit he was doing it again!

Siegfried nearly yanked out his hair. His own mind was rebelling against him. He no longer needed to be asleep for it to happen. It now knew how to slip through the cracks of his most private thoughts and into his conscious frame of mind. He did not appreciate it.

Sophitia gently took his hands within her own. She held onto both with a very firm grip, letting Siegfried know he would not be putting them to use until the two of them understood what was going on. She either thought he actually would pull his hair out, or just give in to his frustration and punch a wall.

"Why don't you take a nice deep breath?"

Siegfried complied with the order. He was surprised at how relaxing it really was.

"Good. Now, do you want to tell me what's going on?"

He wanted to. He really did. Everybody else around him got to throw in their two cents about the struggle they were recently going up against. He, however, had never gotten the chance to express his opinion on the personal little version of hell he was currently living in. It was his turn now.

Yet, the words to express his torture were not going to be able to come out. He knew that already. It had nothing to do with trust, or with understanding. He was just afraid. Saying everything made it all real. If he kept quiet he could almost pretend that none of it was happening. Just as not listening to suffering made it easier to pretend that it did not exist.

Sophitia became uneasy when he refused to answer. "How about I guess? If I answer correctly you nod or say yes, and if I'm wrong you shake your head or just say no. That way you won't have to say anything more than what's absolutely needed. Alright?"

He nodded slowly. She made it sound so easy. He wondered if something like this could really be so simple. Then again, simplicity had always worked for Link. Simple solutions from him could make miracles occur. Could Sophitia be the same way?

"When you said these thoughts of yours had nothing to do with friendship, you meant the relationship had become something stronger didn't you?"

He nodded.

"As in, you're not friends, you're more like brothers?"

He wished that were the case. Then these feelings might not be so horrifying to him. Then again, if he felt nearly as strongly about his own brother as he did for Link, then he would have much bigger issues to see to. "Not exactly."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you think of him as a son?"

"No!" Dear God no! That would just be sick. This woman was going to give him a heart attack.

"Then what?"

He had to turn away from her. Looking her in the eye, now, when he was almost certain of his own desires, seemed wrong. Instead he found his eyes landing on the floor. The cold, dirty floor.

"Siegfried, tell me."

Did she honestly expect him to say it? He had just figured it out himself, and not in the most comforting of ways. How was he supposed to utter words that were still burning his heart?

"Siegfried," She said a moment later. "These thoughts you have about Link, they bring out certain feelings right?"

He nodded.

"These feelings are not platonic are they?"

He shook his head.

"They're not family oriented either, are they?"

He shook his head again.

"They're more like the feelings between my husband and I." It was not a question. She knew the answer already. She had no need to ask.

He had no choice but to answer in the affirmative.

"You're in love with Link."

The words nearly suffocated him. He, of course, knew she would eventually come to that conclusion. She was not stupid, and apparently his feelings were obvious to everyone else but him. She would have figured it out sooner or later. Still, a part of him was shocked. She knew, and yet she could say it out loud without any problem. He was surprised that her voice did not quiver or show signs of the disgust Siegfried felt within himself. She was braver than he was.

"Siegfried?"

He shook his head. As he did so he felt something prick at the sides of his eyes. Still, he kept shaking his head, denying himself even the smallest of droplets to form. He would not let them be shed. He would not let them fall. He would not.

"Siegfried," Sophitia's voice sounded almost surprised. "You're shaking."

Was he really? He could barely notice. His mind was merely focused on not letting his eyes be moistened. He appeared to have missed the fact that his body, too, had a way of crying. It was worse than actual tears. Those he could hide. Convulsions of his body were a great deal harder to keep to himself.

"Tell me what's wrong."

What wasn't wrong with his life at that moment? His best friend turned love interest in the mere blink of an eye was millions of miles away from him, a girl who he had nearly considered a sister had just betrayed him by siding with his apparent new romantic rival, and he had just scared the living daylights out of two beloved little kids so much that they probably never wanted to see him again. The better question would be if there was actually anything working in his favor at the moment.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Everything." He could not have been anymore disgusted with himself if he tried. How low had he fallen? Shaking, tearing up, voice about as loud as a pin drop. He was pathetic. So completely and utterly pathetic that he just wished he could disappear.

Sophitia quickly took him into her arms. He might have been mistaken, but he could have sworn she was shaking too. Now that he thought about it, he was almost certain that he felt little droplets falling onto his shoulder. Was she crying? Did he make her cry?

"I'm sorry." He managed to croak out. Good God, was he going to start bawling? That was just what he needed right now.

"Talk to me." Sophitia pleaded with him. "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

Of all the things for her to say. She had to pick that phrase of all things? He had said that same thing to Link. Link had responded to that phrase. Did she really have to say that?

"I don't want him to hate me." He whispered desperately. Did he really have to be that quiet? Link was not going to suddenly come running around the corner in time to hear every single word he was saying. "I don't want to lose him."

"You won't lose him." She tried to reassure him. No doubt she was using every motherly instinct in her body just to make him stop crying. Just to stop him from destroying himself with all of the toxic thoughts going in and out of his mind. "He would never hate you."

"I couldn't stand it if he did." How funny. Moments ago not one syllable wanted to escape from his mouth. Now he could not stop the barrage of words from flowing. "He meant everything to me. I," He had to say it now. If he kept it in any longer he would self destruct. "I love him. I'm in love with him."

Sophitia shushed and cooed out his name. "That's fine. That's alright. You don't have to cry about that."

Really? Then why had Cassandra made it seem so bad? Why had Cassandra made it seem like he deserved to be in this kind of turmoil? Had he not deserved it? "You're not mad at me? Not disgusted?"

"Absolutely not." She answered instantly. "Why should I be? You're still the Siegfried I have known and loved for years. Nothing will ever change that."

"But I love him."

"What's wrong with that? When has there ever been anything wrong with loving somebody?"

"We're both guys."

"That doesn't mean a thing." She said confidently, almost like she believed in what she was saying. Siegfried wished he could say the same. "Love is love, regardless of gender."

He wanted to laugh. The prospect was so funny he could honestly, sincerely laugh. How pretty those words of hers sounded. How ugly the reality of the world really was. "When has something like this ever been anything but an abomination? These feelings of mine are marked as a taboo."

"In certain parts of the world that may be true, but that's only because they don't truly understand you and the bond you have with Link."

This time he did laugh. "I'm a freak Sophitia. I deserve to burn for all eternity."

He felt her entire body tense up. Not a single muscle moved. Not even her breath was filtering in at this point. He thought for a moment that he had finally gotten his point across. Maybe she had figured out the harsh reality Cassandra had done her best to shove down his throat. It was not all that hard to comprehend; really, he understood it all fairly well. Sophitia was just too kind sometimes. She did not like to see the ugliness of the world. It was understandable that she would take so long to see where he was coming from.

"Siegfried Schtauffen," That was not a good sign. Sophitia never used full names unless she was highly upset at whoever she was speaking to.

"Yes?"

When she pulled away, Siegfried saw that she was absolutely livid, just about as much as Cassandra had been when she confronted him at the dinner table. Sophitia, he found himself admitting, was a lot scarier than Cassandra. Whereas the younger Alexander showed her rage through the loudest methods she could find, her sister took advantage of the fear that silent, brewing anger could instill.

"What I have I told you about using that word?"

Siegfried was not all too sure which word she meant. Mothers had a tendency to not like a lot of words that did not seem like a big deal to the ones who had spoken it. If he had to take a guess, though, he would put money on his use of the word freak. If that was the case, she could only have one opinion on it. "You don't like it?"

"I despise it." She said coldly. "I find it atrocious, ridiculous, and cannot fathom why such a terrible word would even exist. Not one person is my acquaintance is a freak, and that includes you. Do you understand?"

He could not help but flinch. He almost preferred Cassandra's constant screaming to this kind of solemn scolding. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not." And there was that all too familiar motherly rage. The kind of anger that stemmed from being lied to, however unintentional the fib was. Siegfried had almost forgotten about it. He had not been in contact with that special brand of spine tingling fear for quite some time. "You're not sorry because you have no idea what you've done wrong, do you?"

He shook his head. There was nothing else he could think to do. This woman scared him about as much as his own mother had when he was a child, and she was just about the only one who could scare him into silence. Had it been anyone else speaking to him like this, he would have had his defenses set and ready to go. He would have been snapping back and denying for all he was worth, even if it was all futile in the end. With Sophitia, that was all but impossible for him to accomplish.

"Siegfried, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Link would be absolutely heartbroken if he were to hear even half of what you've just told me."

He could not stop the sudden increase of his heartbeat at the name. He could not help it. Suddenly everything about Link made Siegfried feel different in a way that was not at all unpleasant. It was like he was now hyper sensitive to everything about the elf's presence, even memories that were once the only part of Link he had left.

"What do you mean?" Was all he could think to say. He was curious as to what she meant, what the truth of her words amounted to.

"Siegfried," Her voice soon reverted back to the soft and gentle tone the German was used to.

Sophitia brought him into her arms again. This time he allowed himself to simply relax into the grip, accepting the affection and comfort that came with it. His head dropped to her shoulder without question, and his arms wrapped around her like a child desperate for a love he had been deprived of for far too long. He needed comfort. Hugs had always been the best means to achieve it. It had been true when he was young, when Link had come into his life, and remained true even now when he was at his lowest.

Sophitia was warm and protective. She was accepting of him in a way he had not been expecting. She would not shove him away. She would not reject him now of all times. No, Sophitia would never be so cruel. Not even to her most despised enemy. How could he have allowed himself to believe she ever would, even for just a second?

"You know, you were his everything too." She gently ran a hand up and down his back. Meanwhile her other hand ran through his hair in soft stokes. Her ministrations were nothing short of soothing.

"I was?" He asked timidly. He was reluctant to believe those words. She had him hoping though.

"You were. Not a day went by when Link did not speak of what you had done for him. 'Siegfried taught me this' 'Siegfried is so incredible, he can do that' Honestly, I think I learned more about you from him than I did from you."

Siegfried never did like talking about himself. There was a fine line between speaking about yourself, and giving out your life's story to anyone that asked. There was also a fine line between giving out enough information in order to be considered polite, and withholding everything important in your life to a point where you were constantly being compared to a rock. People either found you to be too cocky or a complete waste of space. There was a method and a ritual that had to be set forth so that the right impression could be made.

Siegfried did not have the time to master the technique. He simply gave out important medical information to his comrades, so they knew what to do in case of an emergency, and left it at that. Anything else could be figured out by simple observation, or answered with a simple question. Again, Siegfried was not his own favorite topic, and did not think himself to be particularly interesting.

Link apparently seemed to have a different opinion.

"Did you know he used to talk about taking you with him?" She waited for the inevitable surprised shake of the head. "I didn't think you would. As far as I know, Mitsurugi and I were the only ones he felt safe enough to divulge that information to."

Mitsurugi knew about something like that? Why had he never mentioned it to Siegfried? It certainly would have helped him emotionally if someone would have had the courtesy to relay that little bit of information to him.

"He had sworn us to secrecy." Sophitia went on to explain. "Link, at the time, still had no way of knowing if such a thing was possible. He didn't want you getting your hopes up if something didn't work out the way he wanted it to."

It still would have been nice to know. It could have saved him from the turmoil he was suffering from now.

"For a good while he thought he had everything planned out. All it would really take was one more passenger on the trip back to his world. He could have you live with him, show you everything about his homeland, and the two of you could have lived out your days with someone who actually cared."

"Then why didn't he?" Had Siegfried done something wrong? Link had apparently been so determined that the two of them should wind up in the same world. What made him change his mind?

"He had a dream one night. In it his three goddesses told him that they knew of his plan. In no uncertain terms they warned him of what that action would entail."

"What did they say?"

She took a moment to respond. Siegfried could just picture her eyes wavering slightly, a recollection of a bad memory coming to the forefront of her mind. "Three years is all they would give him. Three years in his world, and through some circumstance or another, you would die."

Could the eternal beings of Link's world really be so terrible? The German knew they could be unfair, but could they honestly be as cruel as what he had just heard? "That dream, was it real?"

"Link seemed to think it was. That night he ran into my room crying. He was so upset it had taken both Mitsurugi and me settling him down enough for him to get back to sleep, and he only promised to go back to bed if he could sleep next to you."

Siegfried vaguely remembered that night. He had been half asleep at when Mitsurugi had suddenly shaken him awake. When the knight had finally gotten into some decent form of consciousness, he had asked, irritably, what was going on. Link appeared by the bed a second later, shaking and unable to form a coherent sentence. Siegfried had no idea what had made him understand what the boy wanted, but he had known somehow. He had lifted the blankets without a second thought, urging the boy to climb in next to him. Link had refused to remove his head from the knight's chest at any point during the night. Though he thought it odd, Siegfried had quickly forgotten all about such things and fell back asleep once Link's breathing evened out. Now that he thought about it, had Link been listening to his heartbeat?

"He didn't talk about taking you with him after that."

"I still would have gone." Siegfried found himself saying. "Even if that dream had been a real threat, I still would have gone with him if he asked me to."

She chuckled a bit. "I'm sure you would have. And that is precisely why Link never told you about it. He was terrified. He could be reborn again. You only had one life to live. Even though it killed him inside he would rather you live on in this world than cut your life short just to quench his loneliness."

Link really was that selfless. He would break any law of time and space just to ensure the comfort of those he cared about. Even if it meant he was in eternal torment, he would do everything to have those he loved living in happiness forever.

The hallway was silent after that. Siegfried, oddly enough, was no longer bothered by it. The monsters in his mind were no longer plaguing him. Sophitia's own kind words, dripping with a love laced secret, had kept them at bay.

Link would not hate him. Link had cared about him, still cared about him. Link had loved him, still loved him, even if it was not in the same way that Siegfried did. The knight would not be tossed away, and Sophitia would no doubt see to it that no one else gave him a hard time about his feelings. He was safe for the time being.

"Are you okay now?" He heard her ask. "Do you feel any better?"

"Much better." He liked the certainty of his own voice. He was happy to have it back. "Thanks."

The two stood up a second later, and Sophitia escorted the knight back to his room. With each step he felt a bit more of his self esteem returning to him. It had been gravely injured, almost in critical condition after Cassandra's rapid fire sharp tongue. Sophitia had been a saint, soothing and consoling until it was back to what it had been before. It was amazing how one sister could crush his heart so badly, while the other could mend it until it was back to its former glory.

Again he had to wonder, was that done on purpose?

"Will Patroklos and Pyrrha be alright?" He asked before he retired to bed for the second time that day. "I think I really scared them."

Sophitia shook her head. "They'll be fine. I had Rothion explain things to them. He may not know everything about the situation at hand, but he knows enough about his own children. The two of them will be their usual cheerful selves by morning."

Siegfried let loose a relieved sigh. He would never be able to forgive himself if the brother and sister were to be permanently scarred because of what he had done. Those children had never been anything but good to him. They had loved and accepted him as one of their own, called him by a family name without any kind of effort on the knight's part. They were precious to Siegfried. He did not want them to be afraid of him.

"Do you think they'll act differently around me?"

Sophitia shook her head. "You underestimate their ability to understand. They've been angry before, and they've broken quite a bit during those times. They'll have no trouble understanding you."

"That's good." A yawn escaped his mouth, and he was aware for the first time in hours just how tired he was.

The blonde beside him gently pushed him inside. "Off to bed with you. You'll need the energy for tomorrow."

Siegfried nodded tiredly. "Are you going to bed too?"

"In a little while. If I'm not mistaken, a certain aggravated Samurai will need a drink to get him through the rest of the night."

Siegfried chuckled. "You're not going to give him any alcohol are you?"

"Unless that's what they're calling tea these days, then no."

The knight bid his hostess a goodnight before finally closing his door. He then proceeded to prepare himself for a decent night's sleep. The day ahead would bring a lot of stagnant issues to his attention. He would need to discuss and divulge his own feelings, as least to an extent, to the other members in his group while keeping a suitable amount of dignity around his person. He would also need to patch things up with Cassandra the best he could, and make sure to threaten an understanding into the princess' head. There would not be a repeat of the night's events _ever_ again if he had anything to say about it.

Right now, he just needed to sleep.

"**I don't ask for much."** He thought desperately as he tucked himself into bed. **"But, tonight, I want to dream of him. And for the love of God," **He slowly closed his eyes.** "Can it please be a nice one?"**

* * *

Mitsurugi was not normally a gentle man. It was not in his nature to baby the idiots of the world and humor them by telling them that situations were not their fault. The world was a cruel being, and he happened to be of the opinion that he was a great deal fairer than it was.

His only exceptions were when dealing with the deathly ill, Link, or small infants who could not know any better.

Cassandra normally did not fit into any of the three categories, and he normally would have demanded an explanation for her actions regardless of how much she was 'hurting'. But that would do him no good with this girl. She was a complicated creature, more so than any other female he had ever encountered. If he met her with demands while she still had something to whine about, she would clam up and refuse to speak to him for the rest of the evening.

He needed her to explain a few things, fill in a few blanks, and she could not do that if she were silent. Her wound would have to be treated. Then the samurai could lure her into a small false sense of security and coax out answers from her. Those answers would likely come in the form of intense shrills and banshee like screeches, but they would be answers nonetheless.

The injury was not serious. Her hand was bleeding, but if the wrist was held on tightly enough the flow would lessen. She was lucky no shard had been unfortunate enough to slice through the more delicate parts of her upper arm. That would have been a much more serious wound, and might have needed more medical attention than those in the house were going to be able to give. As it was, she simply needed some simple first aid.

The bathroom was lit by a few candles and a generous amount of moonlight. All the samurai had to help him aid the girl next to him was a basin of water, some bandages, and a whole lot of patience. He needed a drink, something strong preferably.

"Your glove captured most of the smaller shards, and only the big ones managed to get through. Those were far fewer and did a lot less damage collectively. Consider yourself lucky."

She winced when he dislodged a very wedged in piece of glass. "You call this being lucky? It hurts!"

"It could have hurt a lot worse. Now hold still."

She fidgeted. "You're hurting me."

"The glass is hurting you, and I wouldn't be if you would just stay quiet and _hold still_."

She winced again when he yanked out another shard. However, she remained steady and refused to move. "Sophy would have been gentler."

"Sophy is busy looking after Siegfried. A man you just so happened to enrage to the point of injury." His eyes met hers then. His stare was cold, accusing, and just this side of demanding. "You really should be ashamed of yourself."

She stared back at him in the picture of perfect defiance. "He got what he deserved."

"And what exactly did he deserve?"

"Being told the truth."

"Which was?" Honestly, his patience only went so far.

"That he was a monster."

And that was when the line was drawn and the swords were unsheathed. "_**You did what?**_" He could not believe what he was hearing. That word had been taboo since day one of working with Siegfried. Link had ensured, painfully, that it was never uttered within a hundred feet of the knight's ears. And she had just blurted it out to him at such a time? When he really did not need to hear it? "What the hell is the matter with you? Didn't your parents raise you better than that?"

She turned away from him. Why is it that people thought turning away from him meant that he would suddenly become oblivious to what they were thinking? It was starting to get aggravating. "He started it."

Mitsurugi rolled his eyes. He should have expected that kind of answer from her. Why he was secretly hoping for an adult's response was beyond him. Cassandra was still the same girl she had been two years ago. She was still far more childish than her young niece and nephew, and she could still give him a headache in ten words or less.

"This is the argument you're going to present to me? That's honestly the best you can do?" He now knew this conversation would not end well. It was likely better to start the fireworks early on. "Let me tell you something. The only thing that will get you is a whack on the head for stupidity."

"You wouldn't."

He dunked her hand a bit too harshly into the basin of water. "Try me."

She would not dare. Cassandra was bold, stupidly stubborn at times, but she knew better than to push her luck with him. Normally she would not even test her luck with Siegfried. There was a sort of silent agreement between the two of them. It kept her mouth shut when it needed to be when around him, and kept his temper in check when dealing with her constant mood swings.

In a sense, the two of them were like siblings, a pair involuntarily put together with no choice but to have a common foreground of respect. They both knew how to push the others buttons, but they also knew when to stop pushing for fear of severe repercussions. Cassandra knew all too well what could happen if she were to ignore the signals telling her to stop.

Siegfried could hit hard too, both physically and verbally. Even if he chose not to hit Cassandra out of sheer force of will, he could still cut deep with a few choice words. His were always much more carefully selected than hers were. The German had a sharp tongue once you got him going, and he could seriously hurt a person if he managed to hit the jugular. Most of the time, he hit the mark he was aiming for. Cassandra was not up to par with him in that respect. As a result she usually did not invite such situations as the one that had occurred that night to happen often. She knew she would end up losing in the end. Tonight had been something new.

"Are you going to tell me exactly what started all this? You don't usually try to decapitate your dinner guests with buckets."

She took back her hand. No doubt it was stinging from the treatment it had received. "It's none of your business."

He had to be careful now. She would cut him off completely if he did not bait her well enough. Whether or not she wanted to give them, he would still receive his answers come hell or high water. "Try again. Siegfried ran out of that room in quiet shame and Pat and Pyrrha were just ushered out in tears,"

"_They're_ none of your business."

He rolled his eyes again. He wondered how on earth she thought repeating the same argument over and over again would help her win anything. "If you really cared about the two of them, you would have stopped fighting with him when you saw that they had entered the room." He narrowed his eyes. "You're running out of pathetic excuses. Come up with some more or I'll have to end this conversation."

"Why am I the one in trouble? Why don't you go yell at him?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's his fault!"

Yet she still refused to tell him why. He would have to try a different approach. "For what? Gathering us all together like this? At least having a plan to get us through this mess? For getting us around quicker than we normally would have? Please enlighten me?"

She glared at him. "Tell, me Mitsurugi, who's in charge of this rescue mission?"

"Siegfried is."

"Why?"

"Because Link asked for him specifically."

"Is that what he told you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that was the way the story was told to me."

"So Zelda didn't tell you directly?"

"No." Alright, so this was where the problems began. "I take it she told you her version?"

"She told me the truth."

Or at least her version of it. Royalty always had such a creative way of spinning any story. "And what did she say was the truth?"

"Link told her to find several people in order to help her save him. Siegfried never wanted to mention it to anyone because he wanted to be the one responsible for saving Link."

Mitsurugi let out a frustrated breath. "Let me tell you two very big problems with that story. One, I highly doubt Link had the time to give her any lengthy list of names while he was being viciously attacked by Soul Edge. At most he maybe had time for two, and he could not possibly have had the time to say which one he preferred and why. Two, even if we suppose that he had been able to do all the above, Siegfried is in no position to 'play' hero. He needs help, and the fact that he willingly went around asking for it, making himself look weaker in the process, seems to dismiss any theory saying he wanted sole glory for this act."

"Then why not give anyone the opportunity to lead? It's not like he has the experience for this kind of thing anyway."

"Who else would you rather have lead us then, Cassandra?" He expected her to point him out, or perhaps suggest her sister. Even Ivy was a possibility.

What she said instead surprised him. "What about Zelda?"

"Oh yes, let's let the damsel in distress lead us to the hero she got locked up. How very wise of you. In the meantime, why don't I walk out of here in a dress and parade around the city singing a variety of old folk songs in Latin?"

Her face turned red in humiliation. "I'm being serious!"

"Could have fooled me. Why on earth are you taking her word over Siegfried's anyway?" That princess was the Athenian's competition, not her friend. It made no sense for her to suddenly start believing in everything the other girl was saying.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed them."

"Noticed what? Stop beating around the bush and get specific."

"Her bruises. The marks she got because of Siegfried."

"What marks?"He had not seen any, but the girl must have had them hidden somewhere on her body, and she had found the perfect opportunity to use them to her benefit.

"There's one on her lower arm that he admits to causing."

"From when he took hold of her wrist the night they met. Yes I knew about that one." Or at least he assumed that was the one she was speaking of. He had never seen the knight grab hold of her anywhere else but her wrist since he met up with the two of them, and even then he was hesitant to touch her.

"What about the one on her back?"

"She has one on her back?" Siegfried could not have possibly done that. There were very few ways to scar a person from behind messily enough to leave a mark, yet carefully enough to make it so that the one injured can still move. Siegfried had no idea how to do that. He was either going in for the kill or holding back to teach a lesson. Never was there a combination of the two.

"Yeah, she said he did that to her. She also said that he keeps telling people she fell off the horse."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Epona did not like Zelda. It had initially surprised the samurai to see the creature act so hostile towards the princess. Epona was normally so well behaved, having been trained well from Link's special brand of upbringing. Apparently, she knew a bad seed when she saw one, and she could obviously hold a grudge.

"Epona would never misbehave like that."

"Not normally, no. But when people hurt her master, she can be quite the vengeful being."

Cassandra frowned. "Zelda would never hurt Link."

Oh, Mitsurugi knew that much. The girl would never hurt the boy of her own accord. However, her actions could cause more than enough damage. "Why not?"

"They were friends."

He could not help it. His self control was shot from the long day of constant arguing, and he just could not hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing.

Cassandra did not find it so amusing. "I'm serious."

That was what made it funny. "Friend's. That's a good one."

"She wasn't lying. She said the two of them were close."

"Of course they're somewhat close. They share a forced destiny. That doesn't mean they were friends."

"She knew about him. She knew everything about who he was. Things we didn't even know."

"He was under her rule and they have known each other for, possibly, centuries. Whether they wanted to or not, they would have had to learn about each other to survive."

And the only one who ever really knew Link was Siegfried. He never made an attempt to fully open his heart and soul to anyone else. Not even to the rest of his traveling team. It was not as if the Hylian did not trust them. He loved his old team, cared for them, and held them in the highest esteem. Again, it was not about who they were to him.

What it came down to was who they were not. They were not Siegfried. They were not the knight who had been with the boy since day one. So they were not the ones who were privy to all those secrets and intimate kind of knowledge.

"That's not what she said."

"Then, she was lying to you."

Something flashed in Cassandra's eyes. Something akin to horror and disbelief mixed together in one flurried broth. Mitsurugi was getting through to her, just a little bit, even though she did not want to listen to him. "She said they were close."

"He never wanted to be anywhere near her. She may have wanted that to be the case, but he did not reciprocate her feelings."

"She said that he was like a brother to her."

At that he felt the need to scoff. "Yeah, a brother she would love to commit incest with." He honestly wished he had been present for the girl's conversation. The things he would have loved to dispute, the points he would have loved to tear down. The comments he would have loved to laugh at. If only he had been aware that such a conversation was taking place.

"You're lying."

"Oh I'm lying?" He was tired of playing this game, and his headache had grown considerably worse within the last few minutes. "Tell me Cassandra, how long have you known this girl?"

"…One day."

"More like a few hours."

"So? What does that-"

Mitsurugi tugged on a good clump of her hair. "I'm talking." She shut her mouth immediately, but he did not let go of her hair. It was best to have insurance in these kinds of instances. "And in those short few hours has the girl done anything worthy of your trust?"

"I guess not, not really."

"You guess? Not really? It is a yes or no question. Answer as such."

"…no."

"Despite the fact that she is indeed not worthy of your trust, as we have both established, why on earth would you listen to a word she said?"

"What she said was true!" That much Cassandra was certain of. She had lost quite a bit of her confidence during the course of the conversation, but this she had absolutely no qualms about feeling sure about. "When she talked about us, she just seemed to know everything. The way we were, the things we liked, our general attitudes. How could she have not known about us if Link didn't tell her?"

"I'm sure she could have found a way. In fact, I'm almost certain I know how she did it. Tell me, during her little story, did she fidget a lot?"

"Yeah, she was nervous about Siegfried walking in."

"Even though he was fast asleep and was so exhausted he could hardly remind himself to breath?" She did not answer him. "So she was fidgeting and she was nervous. Did she look around a lot? Seem hesitant to speak at times?"

Cassandra frowned and tried to look the other way. It was rather hard to do so when he still had a grip on her hair. "Yes and yes."

"I just have one last question. Did she barely manage to look you in the eye?"

The rage returned. He could see the fire beginning to spring to life in her eyes. It would have transferred to mouth had he not yanked her hair again to remind her who was in charge of this conversation.

"Let me tell you what smart, calm, rational people make of all of that. She was lying. She was lying and she was scared that you would not believe her. So to turn matters a bit more towards her favor she began feeding you information you already knew. Information Siegfried gave her when he met her so she would know who was likely to kill her and who would only scowl. However, in doing so, he also gave her a method to prove that someone had told her all about us. You mistakenly thought that person was Link."

"So what she said about her and Link being close?"

"All a fantasy she would love to see come to fruit. You were fooled Cassandra, and you took your stupidity out on Siegfried."

She narrowed her eyes. "If I told you I didn't believe you?"

"Then you're a lot dumber than I thought and a lot less likely to listen to reason."

"Oh shut up! You barely ever even talked to Link kindly, and I never once heard you praise him! Maybe you're just jealous that I mean so much to him."

"That _**you**_ mean so much to him? A bit cocky, aren't you? I don't recall him ever saying anything like that."

She realized her mistake, but she was not backing down. "What do you know?"

"I know that your sister would never have been foolish enough to make such a horrible mistake." That was a low blow, even for him. It seemed he had been hitting below the belt a lot lately. He would feel guilty about it sometime later. Right now, he needed to make a point. "You're so desperate to be number one in someone's heart that you forget you have a brain that needs to be listened to every once in a while. Maybe you should start wondering why Siegfried was so much more important to Link than anyone else instead of blaming him for the boy's emotions, since I have a feeling that was why you were so easily fooled."

Her face was flushed. He let go of the hair he still had enslaved and she quickly looked away from him. Her hand was still being coddled. Now it was shaking slightly, and she had to turn it into a fist to keep it steady. She was humiliated, she was forcibly humbled, and she was ashamed. And all of that had brought her to silence.

"You need to stop being so selfish. Don't persecute Siegfried because he was special to the boy. It makes you too much like the princess. And when you're like her, you get desperate enough to trick people."

Mitsurugi was not a gentle man. He had to be harsh in this world, and the life of a samurai had demanded a hard countenance from day one. He would speak out on what he believed to be true. He would bluntly let you know his opinions on matters if you got him involved. He would not pull punches, or take it easy on anyone. That was the way he treated everybody in life, minus the sick, the young, and Link.

But when he stopped in the doorway on his way out of the bathroom, he turned to look back at Cassandra. She was crying silently, doubled over and shaking with suppressed sobs. She was suffering because of him.

He walked out of the room without another word. But for a minute, he truly wished that he could afford to make her an exception to his rule.

* * *

Mitsurugi could hardly understand how Sophitia did it every day. How she could soothe and understand the fragile young hearts of her own children, then take time to comfort the members of her old traveling group as though they were her own, and still manage to calmly brew him a batch of tea for his shaken nerves without complaint, was beyond him. Mitsurugi had only been handling the overly emotional rollercoaster for one day, and he already felt like crawling into an early grave and nailing his own coffin shut.

"I don't think we've ever fully appreciated you." He said once she sat down with him at the table. "I don't even think I've ever fully comprehended what it is you do."

She smiled at him.

The samurai could understand how Siegfried had allowed himself to open up to her so freely. It had nothing to do with how holy she was, or how much of an authority she possessed in the group, as he had originally thought. Sophitia simply knew how to make you feel safe. She knew how to ease your guard down without making you feel afraid or desperate enough to withdraw from her. Just seeing her smile at you, no judgment in the way she looked at you, was enough to have you sharing all the secrets within your soul.

"Drink." She urged as she placed the cup of tea in his hands. "It'll help you some."

He took a long sip. He detected a hint of lavender, an herb that helped with sleep as well as calming fragile nerves. She used to make this particular brew for Link, as he had an affinity for the plant. She must have also added in some honey to sweeten the blend. Mitsurugi had always preferred it to sugar in any tea he drank, and he could always taste when it was present. It figured. She always was the type to remember just what was needed to comfort people.

"I had no idea what I was doing." He admitted. "I went to talk to Cassandra, and all she did was argue with me. I was blunt, I was crude, and I didn't even take a moment to realize what I was saying to her until she was silent. And then I just left her there to think about what she'd done." He massaged the area around his temple, hoping to stop the headache he felt coming on _again_. "I did the same thing with Raphael. I was unfair to them both."

She smiled lightly. "I know it might seem that way, but that is unfortunately how you deal with someone of Cassandra's nature. You have to be blunt with her, otherwise she tends to ignore you or not take you seriously enough. It's the same with Raphael." She took a sip of her own drink, finding strength in the warmth it had.

"It's not like that with Siegfried." The samurai said sadly.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Strong though Siegfried may be, he is not the type to benefit from that kind of confrontation. That was why the argument with Cassy hurt him so much. Hard headed arguments only work for the hard head." A saddened look passed through her eyes. "Too many people rely on that kind of argument for every single situation."

"I take it you disapprove of that method?"

She nodded. "Being harsh relies on breaking down someone's defenses to make them see your point. Siegfried has a personality that dwells on the fights he's had, and he tends to over think too much about his own contributions to the blame. That kind of personality is often riddled guilt after any argument, and in the end they destroy their defenses themselves. Being harsh with somebody who had already broken down their own walls is only going to destroy them further."

"Meaning, take a fragile heart that hurts itself, break it even further, and all you end up doing is shattering it altogether?"

She nodded again. "Cassandra added salt to a wound that had just been opened by Siegfried himself. She hadn't even given him time to heal before she rushed in, adding her input into a situation that was none of her business. Siegfried could have really been broken."

"It was because of you that he wasn't."

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, turning so that he could not see the flash of red cross her face. Mitsurugi realized that this had probably been the first time the two of them had ever had this kind of conversation.

In the past, the two of them had accepted their paternal roles in the group, and simply acted out their responsibilities as surrogate parents. They did what was expected of them whenever the time called for it. However, they had never sat down with each other to consult on how to go about completing those roles to the fullest, or to tell each other how much of a good job they were doing. She was not used to hearing him praise her like this.

"Siegfried's personality needs a gentler nurturing," She added after a moment. "He needs someone to understand him in any argument, and to help him understand that he's not going to be hated for what transpired, even if it was his fault."

"Meaning, he does not need someone to blame him since he's already begun to blame himself." It made sense. That _was_ the kind of person Siegfried was. It was who he had become after being a part of Nightmare for so long. He blamed himself for absolutely everything. "Fighting with Zelda beforehand probably didn't help matters either."

Sophitia shook her head. "The fight he had with her scarred him deeply. Cassandra damaged him further by taking her side when she had no need to. It was not her argument."

"She was hurt more than anything. I think she realized where she stood with Link after hearing where Zelda rested on the boy's spectrum. She could not have made Link stay in this world anymore than Zelda could have kept him in her castle. Siegfried could have, though."

"Jealousy is a nasty emotion I'm afraid. I was surprised, though, to see her take it out on Siegfried more than Zelda."

"The princess is no competition to her. Siegfried is."

Sophitia's eyes widened for a moment, before they relaxed in understanding. "You see it too, then?"

He nodded. "I've suspected it for a while, even back before Link left, I knew something was going on between the two of them. They were closer than anyone else I'd ever seen, had a bond stronger than any other batch of lovers I've known in my lifetime. I've even referred to them as soul mates when talking to Raphael."

That made her smile. "He thought we'd hate him for it."

He raised an eyebrow. "He what? Why would we, of all people, hate him for something like that?" Other people on the outside, the samurai could understand. But they were family. An incredibly odd family, but a family nonetheless. "What would make him think that?"

"Cassandra's reaction for one," She too began rubbing her head. It must have been painful for her to speak about her younger sister so truthfully. He felt honored that she would do so with him. "His own fear of rejection for another."

"Rejection from us?"

"From Link as well I imagine."

Mitsurugi felt like bashing his head against the table. "How could I not see how much he was torturing himself? How could I not see that he needed help?" Had he really gotten so clueless over those two short years?

"For what it's worth, it is a lot easier to notice these things with a female intuition."

He could not help but smile. "It doesn't help much, but thanks for trying."

She laughed, and the samurai was reminded of a day when they all had something to laugh about. Such days seemed so far away.

"This will get easier." She promised him. "Cassandra will see how wrong she was, and Siegfried will feel better in the morning. Friends who know each other as much as we do seldom ever stay mad for long."

"I wish I could believe that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that doubt I hear?"

"It's simply realistic expectations. I hardly think Cassandra will realize her mistake so soon."

"Sophy, Mitsurugi,"

The two at the table turned to see a fidgeting Cassandra standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She looked absolutely everywhere but directly at them, but they could see the look of shame she had written all over her face.

"I'm sorry."

Mitsurugi turned to look at Sophitia, who merely smiled back at him.

"I was acting like a brat. I shouldn't have put myself in the middle of something I had no place in."

Sophitia almost looked smug, while Mitsurugi could barely hold back astonishment.

"We're not the one's you should be apologizing to," He managed to say to the younger blonde.

She appeared to fidget even more. "I know, but Siegfried wouldn't open the door when I tried knocking."

Sophitia rose from her seat and went to pat her little sister on the head. "He probably just fell asleep. You can try again in the morning."

Cassandra nodded and looked up to Sophitia, a small question in her eyes.

Sophitia turned to Mitsurugi with a smile. "She wants to be tucked in."

"Sophitia!"

"Will you be alright by yourself?"

Mitsurugi waved her off with an amused flick of the wrist. "Go make sure little Cassandra is tucked in safe and sound. Wouldn't want the monsters getting to her, now would we?"

Cassandra, face red in embarrassment, stomped her foot on the ground. She then ran out of the room with an aggravated, "You guys are such idiots!" echoing behind her.

Those left in the room could not help but laugh.

Sophitia was about to follow her sister, with a somewhat half hearted apology at the ready, when she heard the samurai call her name. Confused, she turned to see one of the most sincere smiles she had ever seen grace Mitsurugi's features.

"Thanks Sophitia. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that enough to you."

She smiled too. "It was nothing. Please don't feel like you owe me anything."

"Trust me. What you do is not 'nothing'."

She turned red slightly, but the grin on her face could not have been any prouder. "You speak too highly of me. I'm nothing so grand as to deserve it."

He laughed. "I disagree. After all, amongst other things, you _are_ the mother of my children."

The laughter that rang through the house after that was enough to put everyone at ease.

* * *

MistressOfTime1218: Hope you guys enjoyed it!

StormBlitz: …so…long…

DarkMist: This was hell to edit.

K-Chan: WAAA!

FangOfDoubt25: You girls are such drama queens.

MistressOfTime1218: By the way, if this was too depressing for any of you, I have some good news. I've decided to put up a drabble series related to the events in To Aid A Hero. For the most part they will be much more light hearted than this. It goes by the name of Heart of the Hero, and will be updated either daily or every other day. At the very least, once a week. They'll be a lot shorter, but you won't have to wait as long for a LinkXSiegfried moment. You guys should go check it out.

K-Chan: Please?

MistressOfTime1218: Fang will be helping me edit those, and will be the only one speaking with me on all of the author notes there.

StormBlitz: Come again?

DarkMist: Why not us?

K-Chan: Cheater!

MistressOfTime1218: You guys have your moments in every other story. This one's for Fang.

FangOfDoubt25: (Blows Raspberry.)

StormBlitz: That's not cool.

DarkMist: I feel so betrayed.

K-Chan: You'll be hearing from my attorney!

MistressOfTime1218: Don't forget to tell me what you guys think. It's important. I love you all and really hope you're all happy today. See you soon!


	9. The Light within the Darkness

MistressOfTime1218: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Just as I promised, for my birthday you guys are going to be given a new installment of 'To Aid A Hero'. Think of it as a reverse birthday present.

K-Chan: I almost feel like that's some sort of 'Alice in Wonderland' reference.

MistressOfTime1218: Hope you guys enjoy it. Though I should warn you. It is a lot shorter than the last one, and only has one main focus. I do this for a reason, as I specifically want you guys to concentrate on one very important point here. You'll see why as you start reading.

K-Chan: Or you'll be like me and have to ask why after you're done.

MistressOfTime1218: Which I don't mind answering.

DarkMist: So anyway, let's get this show on the road, shall we?

StormBlitz: MistressOfTime1218 does not own any of the characters, places, or weapons involved in this story. She now owns a Link hat-

K-Chan: Compliments of me!

StormBlitz: But that's about it.

MistressOfTime1218: On with the story!

* * *

His body was numb. Completely, entirely, and so tragically numb. There was no sensation that could reach him. Heat, chills, pain, it was all the same to him now. His skin was too tired to make distinctions between one or the other. The very cells that once told him what he had touched could no longer handle the torment they were receiving. So they simply stopped working altogether.

Link knew that this was only the beginning. The beginning of his suffering, the beginning of Soul Edge's revenge, and the beginning of the end of this current life. The clock had started ticking the second the portal to Siegfried's world was closed. He no longer knew what day it was, what season it was, or even what hour of the day had gone by. Time could no longer be measured in such methods. It now had to be calculated in his body's natural ability to remain functioning well enough to be considered alive. In that sense, time was starting to run out.

He could no longer feel. That meant his body could no longer regulate its natural temperature. If certain areas started to chill, he was no longer able to tell. As a result those areas would not get the warmth they desperately needed. If he were to get too warm than was considered normal, perhaps because of a fever or a virus, he would not be aware of the dangers that were plaguing him until it was too late. Not to mention that since he could no longer feel pain, he no longer knew how close his body was to deteriorating. Because he did not know such a crucial bit of information, he did not know how to properly keep himself alive.

The food he was receiving was beginning to dwindle in content. Soul Edge was trying to break his spirit, tame his soul into some pitiful little thing he could control. He would begin with the physical. Weaken the body, and the mind would eventually follow. Three days without water. One week without food. Seven nights without blankets followed by seven days without a means to cool himself from the heat. Lather, rinse, repeat. That schedule had been repeated to Link so many times he could match it syllable for syllable whenever someone would say it to him again.

To an extent, those methods were starting to work. His body was slowly shutting down. It would not be long until he started hallucinating, his tired husk going on autopilot in order to survive. At this rate, he might even start trying to change into his wolf form to hunt some of the local rodents for a decent meal. But that would be a last resort. His body may have been showing signs of surrender, but his mind was still working at a hundred percent efficiency. It would keep him grounded.

Link would never allow a sword of all things to conquer him. Not in his own homeland. Not with his own power. He had yet to be defeated by any mortal enemy in _any_ life he lived in. He was not going to be outdone by his own flesh and blood now. If he had to, he would force himself to survive the ordeal. If it took biting his tongue until he bled, or screaming the truths of reality until he cried, then so be it. He was not about to lay down and die. Not now. Not here. Not without seeing Siegfried one last time.

The knight would come for him. He had never let Link down before. He would not start now. No matter how much time had passed in that world, if Siegfried was still alive he would come for Link. The Hylian had a hard time feeling certain about anything these days, but he knew that to be true. Siegfried was moving heaven and earth to come to his aid. He just had to be patient.

If there was one thing he was thankful for down in these dungeons, it was that he was now literally in the correct position to be so. In the beginning of his imprisonment, Soul Edge had him chained to the wall as he was standing. When his legs began to quiver, and his arms began to slouch, the sword had seen fit to take pity on his prisoner. He elongated the chains so that Link could now sit on the floor, arms free to move about or remain motionless at his side, with his back against the dirty stone walls for support. The position helped him rest a bit easier when it was time to sleep, and it lessened the amount of his discomfort a great deal.

Link knew, however, that this was in no way a sign of mercy. Soul Edge was testing him. He either wanted Link to reach a breaking point in the form of a desperate surrender, or see how far to death he could bring the boy before he had to stop and treat the wounds before reopening them again. It was all a game. A sick twisted little game that the former Hero of Time would not very well claim he had an advantage in.

Soul Edge knew how to torment. The warrior would give him that. He knew how to rip apart a person's sense of self better than anything else in this world. And he knew how to do it from in the inside out, in very creative and unorthodox methods.

"Don't you look comfortable?" One such method was now standing before him carrying a small tray of rations.

Link set eyes on a carbon copy of himself. One dressed in black where green should have been. Cold red replaced what should have been warm blue, and what was golden on one had been dulled to an eerie silver on the other. Link knew this individual well. How could be not be familiar with his own dark side?

"Hi Dusk. Your day's been pleasant I hope?"

His counterpart scowled and dropped the tray on the floor. What little water there was, which had been placed inside a broken tin can, was splashing about, spilling on whatever pieces of food he was graciously being given that day. Dark Link kicked the tray over to his lighter half, only half heartedly watching to make sure it slid somewhat smoothly to its destination.

Link smiled when it reached him. "Thanks." Better to show as little negative emotions as he could manage. It was not the other's fault, anyway, so copping an attitude would only fuel the assumption that he was starting to crack. Couldn't have that now, could he?

Again, Dark Link scowled. He did not appreciate the lack of a proper response. "You shouldn't be thanking me. That breads gone stale, the cheese has been sitting out in the sun for days, and that water used to be fresh until it was purposely placed in a rusted old can. That meal could kill you."

Link shrugged. "I take my chances with the cheese, but the bread will only cost me a few teeth at the worst. Most of the water should still be good to drink, and even if I ingest some rust, my body can process poisons pretty well."

"Even when it's severely beaten up and too tired to stand?"

The blonde gave him a wink. "We'll see." He brought the can to his mouth and swallowed the contents in one long, savoring gulp. He could taste no copper on the tips of his lips. That meant the darker Hylian had been lying about any possible rust contamination. He had only been trying to scare him. "I think I'll be alright. Thanks for the concern, Dusk."

"You really shouldn't call me that." Red eyes narrowed. "I'm Dark Link."

"But that can get so confusing. Link, Dark Link, how is anyone supposed to tell us apart?"

The other growled. "My existence is not meant to give you a playmate to show off to your little friends."

"No, you're right. Your existence was created to eliminate mine at the Water Temple." Link found that the bread was not too stale. A bit crusted over, sure, but still salvageable. At least he could eat it without breaking his jaw. "Yet here you stand before me. Not as a shadow, but more as a twin of sorts." Link looked up at Dark Link, eyes all knowing, yet still very curious. "I wonder why that is."

"You know why." A hand clenched, and seconds later it smashed itself against a cracked brick in the wall. The dark leather surrounding it was cut, as was a small portion of the skin beneath it. A trickle of blood started to flow from it. "The new bastard took hold of the one's power. Ever since then everything you've ever feared has been recreated and let loose in this castle for his personal amusement alone."

Link's gaze was somber. It was as calm, as cool, as his dark side's voice. "You don't say."

Dark Link narrowed his eyes at the blonde. A slow, simmering rage was beginning to fester in those harsh red irises. "_Everything_ hero. Armos, Beamos, Stalfos, Floormasters, ReDeads, anything and everything that ever gave you nightmares as a child is back. This time with twice the powers of their originals, ready and willing to serve their new master with deadly accuracy."

Link could hear a slight panic in that voice. He could see the slight tension of the shoulders. He could ever smell the small sweat forming on the other's brow. "You seem concerned."

Link kept his mouth shut, remarkably well in his opinion, when his head was suddenly slammed up against the wall behind him a second later. His eyes, he found he could not stop them from closing, opened slowly, taking in the sight of an enraged dark Hylian swordsman. One hand held onto the neck of the hero's tunic while the other crushed his shoulder into the wall to hold him steady. Link had forgotten that speed and strength. He had forgotten that soldier of darkness who had given him the ultimate test of endurance back in the Water Temple of his past.

He realized it would be best to remember it from this moment on.

"Don't misunderstand. I could care less about what happens to you." Dark Link snarled. "You have been the bane of my miserable existence since the day I was 'born'. I do not care one way or the other if you die."

"Then why are you here Dusk?"

The grip on his tunic was tightened. "Whether or not I like it, your fate has been intricately tied in with mine. That _thing_ you brought into this world has created a hell not even Ganondorf could have unleashed. He gave life to things that should not even exist,"

"Including you." That was why the other was there. That was why he now had human form. "Are you scared Dusk? Are you afraid of what might happen if he were to die? Or are you more frightened of what would happen if he were to live?"

Dark Link was taken back for moment. His composure was regained seconds later by hissing and wrapping his hands around Link's throat. They encased, but they did not strangle. The elf was still able to breathe. "Do not take me for a fool."

"Shall I take you for a coward instead?" Now he was certain. His darker half would not harm him. Just like Soul Edge, Dark Link was too afraid to send him to the grave. Not just yet.

"How dare you?"

"Am I wrong?" Link raised an eyebrow. The question was unneeded. He knew the answer already. "You're afraid, Dusk. Afraid of living and afraid of dying."

Dark Link actually let him go just then. His show of dominance was doing him no good. Even shackled and chained to a wall, Link still had the upper hand. The son of a gun could still find something to give him an edge in whatever fight he was placed in. With Ganondorf it was the wizard's inability to gauge his enemy's true power. With Soul Edge it was the swords constant need of the triforce's power. For Dark Link, it was his own hidden fears.

"The last time you were created, you knew exactly what your fate entailed. You knew that you belonged to Ganondorf and that you had one mission. Fight and destroy me. If you lost you would die. If you won you would live until Ganondorf killed you himself, or until someone managed to kill him and all his servants in one foul swoop."

"What are you getting at hero?"

"Now you're unsure. Your master is different, and instead of keeping you as you once were, he changed you entirely." To prove his point he grabbed hold of the hand Dusk had cut earlier and held it in between the two of them. "You can get hurt now, you can bleed now, you can feel and think and wonder for yourself. You're not a mindless shadow anymore."

Link knew this to be fact. Those eyes were proof enough. They were angry at the moment, and they were filled with intense pent up emotions, but within them was the miraculous truth. Dark Link was no longer an entity made out of Link's inner demons. He was his own man now. He was flesh and blood. He was sweat and tears. He was dreams and hopes. He was regret and fear.

"You've tasted what it feels like to breathe and eat and hear your heart beat. You know what living is like for the first time. You don't want to lose it, and that scares you. Your life belongs to your master, but now you don't want to be tied to him anymore, do you?"

Red eyes were narrowed dangerously, but no words were uttered in response to Link's question.

So he continued. "He dies and everything keeping you stable is gone. You can't fend for yourself yet, and without him you're little more than an infant still dependent on his mother's milk. This time, dying alone would hurt so much worse than it did before, and you fear that pain so much you can barely even breathe."

Dar Link forced his lungs to function correctly.

"If someone were to rescue me, kill him, you'd be in a lot of trouble." Link let out a small empty laugh before smiling at his counterpart. The upward twitch of those lips was knowing, and just this side of accusatory. "Then again, if I were to die, you'd be in even worse of a predicament, wouldn't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know very well what I mean. Soul Edge does nothing without meaning too, and he didn't give you a body like that just because he felt like it. Just like he hasn't kept me alive all this time out of the goodness of his heart. He needs the power of my triforce, ergo he needs me. Or rather, he needs me, until he can find a suitable replacement that can hold onto it after I die." He took a quick look at Dark Link, just a swift glance up and down, as though he were inspecting him. "Who better than my own shadow, who has no choice but to answer to the one who holds the triforce of power? And who knows. With time, and with both the triforce of power _and_ courage at his finger tips, he might even be able to fully take over your body."

Dark Link scoffed. "Don't try to scare me."

"I don't have to try. You've no doubt figured this out on your own. I'm just confirming."

Dark Link stood at full height, ripped his hand away from the blonde hero, and glared down at the boy dangerously. "What are you trying to do, hero? Get me to let you lose? Convince me to attack the damn thing? What?"

Link shrugged. "I'm just striking up conversation." He smiled honestly to the other. "I haven't had anyone to talk to in a while."

"That's because you're a prisoner you idiot. Can't you see that? You're stuck in a room, chained to a wall, suffering at whatever kinds of torment Mother Nature wants to throw at you, being killed slowly and without sympathy, and to top it all off, everyone you could have counted on has left you here to die. What the hell are you smiling about!"

Link did not falter. "Someone out there hasn't forsaken me, and he'll be coming to get me soon."

Dark Link rolled his eyes. "Oh really?"

"That's right."

"You're too optimistic. There is no warrior, save for the ones who have long since died, who could release you from here."

"Siegfried could do it."

Dark Link seemed disgusted with the answer.

'**No, not disgusted.' **Link corrected himself. **'He's jealous.' **

"Siegfried this and Siegfried that. I don't know if you've realized it yet, but he's in another world hero! He is light-years away, and that princess isn't all too good at tracking people down. He may never show up."

The smile softened fondly. "He's always been able to find his way to me when I needed him. This time will be no different."

Dark Link growled and slammed him hand against the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. It hurt, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't relish the pain. Pain made sense. It was an obvious problem with several understandable solutions. It. Made. Sense. Link did not. "How can you sit there and act so confident? You're going to die, and I'm going to replace you." His hand quivered against the wall. "How can you **not** be afraid of that?"

Link felt his heart stop. It had been quite some time since he had seen a warrior so truly terrified of what was ahead of him. And Dark Link was the last person he would have expected to see cracking so easily under the prospect of an unknown future. He was scared. Truly and honestly scared. The one true warrior of shadows was simply terrified.

Link took in a long breath, tilted his head, and tried to look as gentle and as reassuring as he could. "Do you know the true meaning of the word courage?"

Dark Link looked towards him from the corner of his eye. "What?"

"For Hylians, the word courage is different from the one used by normal Hyrulians."

"Is there a point to this?"

"**Hyrulians** use courage as a term to describe people without an ounce of fear in their bodies. **Hylians** use it to describe people who, though clouded by fear and doubt, carry on with their lives in the hopes that they will succeed." His tone was sincere, and his eyes were so warm. Dark Link could hardly believe that glow. "True courage does not stem from the certainty of life. It stems from the hope that something other than oblivion lies at the end of the journey. Courage is the strength you get when you believe in something, someone, more than your own fears."

Dark Link looked confused. He was always confused when it came to Link, but this time the confusion was somehow different in nature. The heart he now had was beating rapidly against his chest, and his stomach was growing warm at the words the elf was speaking. Dark Link could not understand. He could not comprehend it. What was so important about foolish words? What made them so powerful that they could cause his body to react so strongly? Why?

"You can't believe that. You'd be a fool to believe in such a thing."

"I can't believe in much anymore," Link admitted, eyes fluttering closed. "But I do believe in him. I believe that he will be my savior this time around." The smile returned. It was strong, confident, and steadfast. Everything that Link was, it was in turn. "You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to believe in him too."

Dark Link huffed at the mere suggestion. "Something like me shouldn't believe in anything."

"You're not a thing anymore."

That was true. The blood on his hand, the beat of his heart, the thoughts in his mind, proved that much. "I can't believe in him." He said solemnly. "I don't know the first thing about this knight in shining armor of yours. I don't think he's anywhere near strong enough to free me from this forced destiny. There's only one being I could ever find myself trusting with that kind of task, and he's chained up to a wall."

One eye was opened. "But he's not dead yet. He's still got more than enough fight left in him to survive until help arrives. And if he trusts that this savior will come, shouldn't you?"

Dark Link rolled his eyes. "You're such a friggin romantic, you know that?"

Link shrugged.

The Hylian promptly turned towards the exit of the cell. He paused, just as he reached the doorway. "Don't have any more of what's on that tray. I may have over exaggerated, but it really will get you sicker if you eat too much of it. I'll bring you something better in a little bit. Think you can survive that long, hero?"

"I think I can manage."

Dark Link turned to look at his counterpart. He was glowing, even within the dark confides of his cage. Incredible. "Don't look into this too much. I could care less about your wellbeing, but at this point, you and I are painfully connected. I don't have much of a choice but to believe you know what you're doing with your own life."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Dusk. I'll be sure not to disappoint."

"Whatever." Dark Link left the room with a mock salute. Before the door was closed, he suddenly felt the urge to say something, anything, to the boy he was leaving behind. "We'll see if this knight really is worthy of all your trust. Later, hero."

Link did not feel the usual emptiness when the door was closed and locked. In fact, for the first time in what seemed like centuries, he felt relieved. The temperature of the cell was beginning to cool. A breeze was coming in from the window above him, and by the looks of the dark blue shadow, night was coming to pay him a visit. Miraculously, there was a blanket beside him that Dark Link had most likely been ordered to take from him when he went to deliver those rations. However, he had managed to leave it behind. Whether he had simply forgotten or left it there on purpose, Link had yet to determine. Regardless, he knew that this night would be spent in some semblance of comfort. He might even go to sleep with a full stomach.

When another breeze entered the room, he picked up the blanket and wrapped it around himself. There was no guarantee what the next day would hold, but tonight's outcome was certain. He could rest easy.

"Night Siegfried," He whispered as he made himself as comfortable as he could against the wall. "Come and get me soon. Otherwise Dusk will think I'm a liar."

He could almost swear, as he fell into the finer comforts of unconsciousness, that he heard a familiar amused chuckle, and a voice he had treasured for years.

"_Sleep well Link. I'll see you soon."_

* * *

MistressOfTime1218: Alright guys, hope you enjoyed this.

DarkMist: Yeah, we're supposed to be thrilled about Link being held in captivity, sure.

MistressOfTime1218: (Frowns)

StormBlitz: Ignore her. She just wants to rush the plot so Ike can get in there. _I_ think it's a definite improvement to the predicament we saw Link in the last time.

K-Chan: Not to mention that it came _quicker_ than the last one, and is so much _shorter_ and more _reasonable_ in length.

MistressOfTime1218: I apologized already! I'm sorry! Geez, what's with the harassment? It's my birthday!

StormBlitz: That's right guys. You have to be nice to her…and give her birthday punches

MistressOfTime1218: Can we not and say we did?

All three: Nope.

MistressOfTime1218: Aw man. Well, to my lovely readers, hope this holds you over until next time. Have a very merry unbirthday .

K-Chan: Alright, I know for sure that that's an 'Alice in Wonderland' reference!


End file.
